SHORT  SKETCHES 

FROM 

OLDEST  AMERICA 


UC-NRLF 


EflE    351 


JOHNB.DRIGGS,M. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


SHORT    SKETCHES 

FROM 
OLDEST    AMERICA 


SHORT    SKETCHES 

FROM 

OLDEST   AMERICA 


By 
JOHN  B.  DRIGGS,  M.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1905,  by 

GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  COMPANY 

Published  July,  igo$ 


Publishers'    Preface 

FROM  the  small  size  of  this  volume,  one  would 
hardly  realize,  perhaps,  what  an  immense  amount 
of  labor  and  patient  research  its  writing  must  neces 
sarily  represent.  The  author,  who  was  first  sent  to 
northwestern  Alaska  in  the  summer  of  1890,  and 
who,  by  the  bye,  has,  with  the  exception  of  two 
vacations  of  a  year  each,  been  constantly  at  his  post 
in  that  bleak  country  ever  since,  found  himself  one 
day  landed,  with  his  possessions,  upon  the  inhospi 
table  sea-beach  of  the  Point  Hope  peninsula,  where 
for  weeks  he  was  compelled  to  shelter  himself  from 
wind  and  rain,  as  best  he  could,  in  an  improvised 
tent  made  of  barrels  and  boxes  with  canvas  thrown 
over  them.  Finally,  the  carpenters  of  some  of  the 
whaling  ships  were  got  together  and  a  house,  which 
had  been  framed  in  distant  San  Francisco,  was  put 
up  for  him,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  water's 
edge. 

A  mile  or  so  away  lay  a  large  native  village,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  naturally  regarded  him  as  a 
great  curiosity.  But  he  found  himself  quite  unable 

5 


Publishers'    Preface 


to  communicate  with  them  otherwise  than  by  signs, 
as  the  printed  vocabularies  and  grammars,  with 
which  he  had  been  supplied,  proved  to  be  inac 
curate  and  practically  valueless. 

His  house  finished  and  no  scholars  being  forth 
coming,  he  proceeded  one  day  to  capture  a  native 
lad  whom  he  found  on  the  beach,  and,  leading  him 
home,  taught  him  several  letters  of  the  alphabet  and 
then  baked  him  a  cake.  This  system  of  rewarding 
attendance  with  something  to  eat  rapidly  brought 
other  scholars.  Older  visitors  followed,  and  he 
soon  had  a  school  in  active  operation  and  then  a 
lecture-room. 

Prior  to  Dr.  Driggs's  arrival,  the  experiences 
which  the  natives  had  had  with  the  whites  had  not 
been  universally  satisfactory.  Outside  of  rare  meet 
ings  with  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  government's 
revenue  cutters,  their  white  acquaintances  had  been 
pretty  much  confined  to  the  class  known  as  "  beach 
combers,"  or  deserters  from  the  steam- whaling 
fleet.  These  are  described  as  a  rough,  unscrupulous 
set  of  fellows,  too  worthless  to  obtain  better  em 
ployment  in  San  Francisco,  where  they  are  enlisted. 
Some  of  these  undesirable  visitors  had  already  ap 
peared  at  Point  Hope  and  had  outrageously  abused  the 

6 


Publishers*    Preface 


peaceful  inhabitants  before  our  author's  arrival 
there. 

In  contrast  with  such  men  as  these,  Dr.  Driggs 
proved  himself  a  friend  indeed  to  the  poor  natives, 
and  succeeded  in  due  time  in  winning  the  affection 
and  confidence  of  their  entire  tribe.  Little  by  little 
he  mastered  their  language,  until  he  has  become  so 
proficient  in  it  that  he  is  now  planning  to  write  a 
grammar. 

During  the  summer  months  many  of  the  Point 
Hope  natives  are  away  from  home  for  long  intervals 
in  quest  of  game  or  on  fishing  expeditions,  and  the 
doctor  would  frequently  follow  their  example, 
making  long  excursions  along  the  coast,  as  far  north 
as  Icy  Cape,  if  not  further;  and  southward,  along 
the  shores  of  Kotzebue  Sound.  Similarly  for  many 
winters,  weaned  with  confinement  to  the  house 
during  the  long  night,  he  was  wont  to  set  out,  ac 
companied  by  some  native  guide  and  wife  with 
dog-team  and  sledge,  to  make  trips  of  several  hun 
dred  miles  over  ice  and  snow,  exposed  to  blizzards 
such  as  we  have  no  conception  of,  camping  out 
when  weary  in  an  improvised  snow-house,  or 
sleeping,  perhaps,  in  some  native  settlement,  where 
the  only  fare  would  be  uninviting  frozen  fish. 

7 


Publishers'   Preface 


These  last  excursions,  however,  he  has  been  obliged 
to  discontinue  in  consequence  of  having  frozen  one 
of  his  feet,  several  years  since,  when  he  fell  from 
an  ice  floe  into  the  ocean,  and  was  with  difficulty 
dragged  out  by  his  companions. 

And  right  here  it  might  be  as  well  to  observe  that 
the  pretty  picture  which  childhood's  memories  de 
pict  as  adorning  a  page  in  our  Physical  Geography, 
with  its  fur-clad  traveler  sitting  comfortably  on  his 
sledge,  brandishing  his  whip  and  dashing  gaily 
along  behind  a  row  of  trotting  dogs,  is  more  im 
aginative  than  accurate.  The  real  use  of  the  dog- 
team,  it  would  appear,  is  merely  to  drag  the  traveler's 
baggage.  The  men  plough  along  through  the  snow 
in  front,  and  the  animals,  harnessed  in  single  file, 
drag  the  sledge  behind  them,  following  the  woman, 
to  whom  they  are  accustomed  to  turn  for  their  food. 

Thrown  thus  into  close  contact  with  Dr.  Driggs, 
their  physician  when  ill,  their  teacher  in  health,  their 
friend  and  protector  always,  the  natives  gradually 
learned  to  discard  the  suspicion  with  which  they 
must  have  originally  regarded  him,  and  confided  to 
him  their  traditions  and  legends,  which  primarily 
they  would  naturally  have  guarded  with  the  most 
sedulous  care.  How  many  an  evening  camp-fire, 

8 


Publishers'   Preface 


how  many  a  long  conversation  must  these  prim 
itive  tales  represent!  How  much  patience,  upon 
the  hearer's  part,  it  must  have  required  to  corrobor 
ate  these  traditions  by  comparing  one  account  with 
another  and  noting  their  remarkable  similarity! 
These  sketches  are  real  native  stories  put  into  read 
able  English,  without  any  attempt  at  embellishment 
or  enlargement. 

Near  the  native  village  of  Tigara  extends,  for  a 
considerable  distance,  the  ancient  burial  place  of 
the  tribe.  Here,  upon  elevated  platforms,  sup 
ported  high  above  the  ground  on  whales'  jaws,  out 
of  the  reach  of  wild  animals,  have  slumbered  the 
dead  for  ages  past.  In  and  beneath  these  places  of 
sepulture,  Dr.  Driggs  has  found  many  interesting 
relics  of  great  antiquity,  which  he  has  brought 
away  with  him.  Among  these  were  the  original 
instruments  used  in  bygone  ages  for  making  flint 
axes  and  arrow-heads.  These  the  reader  will  find 
described  in  the  text. 

The  site  originally  selected  for  Dr.  Driggs's  house 
was  too  close  to  the  shore.  He  found  this  out  one 
night  when  a  storm  brought  the  water  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean  up  over  the  land,  and  a  succession  of  big 
waves  forced  his  door  open.  Carrying  a  native  lad 

9 


Publishers'    Preface 


on  his  back,  he  was  compelled  to  wade,  in  total 
darkness,  through  the  icy  water,  for  several  hun 
dred  yards  before  he  reached  terra  firma.  After 
this  startling  experience,  his  house  was  moved  to 
higher  ground  and  further  inland;  but,  proving 
always  extremely  cold,  it  was  subsequently  re 
placed,  as  a  dwelling,  by  another  and  smaller  build 
ing  which  was  protected  from  the  piercing  wind 
by  a  thick  casing  of  sod. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  say  that  Dr.  Driggs  is  a 
man  of  iron  constitution,  strong  physically  and 
mentally,  an  excellent  shot,  and  one  who  hardly 
knows  the  meaning  of  the  word  fear.  In  years  to 
come,  his  name  will  rightly  go  down  to  history  as 
that  of  a  hero. 


10 


Preface 

DURING  many  years  spent  within  the  Arctic  Circle 
of  Northwestern  Alaska,  at  Tig-a-ra  (Point  Hope 
Village),  where  I  have  lived  at  the  mission  station 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  acting  as  medical  man  and 
teacher,  and,  later  on,  in  deacon's  orders,  1  have 
naturally  become  interested  in  these  ancient  people, 
and  have  written  the  following  volume  of  short 
stories  simply  to  show  the  nature,  traditions  and 
legends  of  the  In-u-pash.1  I  have  also  introduced  a 
few  brief  sketches,  hoping  to  give  a  little  insight 
into  the  simplicity  of  these  primitive  people  who 
have  been  isolated  from  the  outside  world  from  the 
most  remote  time.  There  has  been  no  attempt 
made  to  exhaust  the  subject. 

JOHN  B.  DRIGGS,  M.  D. 

April,  7903. 

1  IN-U-PASH— Native  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  the  Arctic  sec 
tion  of  Alaska. 


II 


Contents 

I.  INTRODUCTION 17 

II.  THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  THREE  BROTHERS     .       23 

III.  THE  METIGEWEK     .          .          .         .          -31 

IV.  ORIGIN  OF  MAN       .          .         .          .          -35 
V.  WHAT  BROUGHT  AGE  INTO  THE  WORLD      .       39 

VI.  TOONGNA        ......       43 

VII.  THE  "  ONGOOTKOOT  "      .          .          .         .47 

VIII.  WEBUKSIDE 57 

IX.  BIRTH  OF  TOOLOOGIGRA    ....       63 

X.  DAY  AND  NIGHT      .....       69 

XI.  MAN'S  FIRST  CONSTRUCTED  HOME      .         .       73 

XII.  THE  MAMMOTH 81 

XIII.  FIRE-MAKING 85 

XIV.  INSTRUMENTS  .....        89 
XV.  Music   .......       99 

XVI.  WOODEN  FACES 105 

XVII.  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  COOK  .          .         .109 

XVIII.  CHOKARLUKE  .          .          .          .          .          .117 

XIX.  INTRODUCTION  OF  TOBACCO        ,          .          .121 
13 


Contents 


XX. 

WINTER  EVENINGS  AND  STORIES 

127 

Allugua       ...... 

130 

Caterpillar  ...... 

'35 

Tungnaluke's  Perplexity 

138 

The  Raven,  the  Barnacle  Goose,  and  the 

Whale     ...... 

142 

XXI. 

COURTSHIP      ...... 

149 

XXII. 

THE  WOOING  OF  BILLY  FISHTAIL 

'55 

XXIII. 

WRITING         ...... 

'59 

Illustrations 


The  princess  and  her  companion 
A  group  of  In-u-pash 
An  elevated  grave     . 
Nanoona's  descendants 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Billy  Fishtail 


Frontispiece 
Facing  page     22 

.     "        "     124 


I 

Introduction 


INTRODUCTION 

ONLY  those  who  have  had  the  experience,  know 
the  pleasure  of  traveling  outside  the  beaten  tracks 
and  viewing  new  scenes  that  are  not  generally 
known  to  the  average  tourist  of  to-day.  Every  year 
the  Atlantic  has  its  throngs  who  are  crossing  the 
ocean  to  visit  old  places  which  have  become  familiar 
to  the  majority  of  readers.  There  is  a  route  for  the 
student  of  nature,  which  has  been  only  partially 
opened  of  recent  years,  that  presents  many  points 
of  interest.  While  nature  has  not  yet  become 
defaced  by  the  artificial  scenes  which  the  Atlantic 
tourist  meets  throughout  his  journey,  the  traveler 
can  try  the  newer  way  by  turning  his  steps  toward 
the  Pacific  and  visiting  Alaska.  There  may  not  be 
all  the  comforts  one  experiences  on  the  Atlantic, 
but  the  ocean  voyage  will  be  found  plenty  long, 
and  there  will  be  the  satisfaction  of  viewing  one's 
own  country. 

Alaska  is  a  vast  and  not  thoroughly  explored 
territory,   with    many  different  tribes  of    people, 

19 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

whose  history  if  it  were  but  known,  would  fill 
many  an  interesting  volume.  The  signs  of  an 
advancing  civilization  are  to  be  noted  in  the  way  of 
small  towns  and  mining  camps,  extending  even  as 
far  north  as  Nome  ;  then,  if  the  journey  is  continued 
through  the  Behring  Straits  into  the  Arctic  regions 
— where  in  winter,  the  moon  forms  its  circle  in  the 
heavens,  while  in  summer,  the  sun  remains  up  as  if 
trying  to  make  amends  for  its  long  winter's  absence 
— up  as  far  as  Point  Hope  to  the  village  of  Tigara,  the 
tourist  will  find  there  an  interesting  and  friendly 
people.  His  first  impression  probably  is,  what  a 
bleak  and  barren  coast!  but,  should  he  allow  his 
thoughts  to  wander  back  to  the  remote  past,  he  can 
imagine  how  in  ages  gone  by  this  may  have  been 
an  Eden  with  its  luxuriant  vegetation  and  a  much 
milder  climate.  The  huge  mammoth  roamed  freely 
through  the  forest,  along  with  many  other  animals 
that  have  long  since  passed  into  the  forgotten  his 
tory  of  long  ago.  Then  through  the  changes  of 
nature  the  warming  ocean  currents  were  shut  off, 
causing  this  to  become  the  bleak  and  barren  country 
it  is  now,  enveloped  in  ice  the  greater  portion  of 
the  year.  The  belt  of  cold,  acting  as  a  barrier, 
isolates  the  people  from  the  outside  world,  and  they 
20 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

have  continued  living  in  their  primitive  condition 
until  the  present  awakening. 

Should  the  geologist  inform  the  villager  that 
North  America  was  once  under  water,  only  the 
tops  of  the  highest  mountains  extending  above  the 
one  great  ocean,  like  so  many  islands,  and  that  then 
the  ocean  currents  carried  their  warmth  to  the  Pole, 
the  Tigara  man  would  reply:  "Yes,  in  very  old 
times  only  three  mountain-tops  extended  above  the 
ocean,  and  it  was  at  a  very  remote  day  that  my 
ancestors  first  appeared." 

Should  the  evolutionist  inform  the  villager  that 
man  did  not  at  first  stand  in  an  erect  position  as  at 
present,  but  went  round  on  his  hands  and  feet;  that 
the  sperm  whale  originated  from  an  animal  akin  to 
the  bear;  and  that  other  great  changes  have  taken 
place  among  the  various  members  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  the  Tigara  man  would  again  reply: 
"Yes,  the  earliest  men  did  not  have  their  lower 
extremities  developed  for  walking;  the  Bow-head 
whale  originated  from  an  animal  similar  to  the  deer, 
while  another  member  of  the  whale  family,  called 
the  Killer,  armed  with  large  teeth  instead  of  baleen, 
originated  from  an  animal  akin  to  the  wolf;  the 
deer  of  old  was  a  hornless  and  carniverous  animal, 

21 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

having  teeth  like  those  of  the  bear,  its  canines  being 
quite  long,  and  when  it  appeared  in  herds  the 
earlier  inhabitants  were  alarmed,  as  it  used  to  attack 
and  devour  the  people."  He  will  also  tell  you  that 
its  fat  was  similar  to  the  blubber  of  the  seal,  or  per 
haps  more  like  that  of  the  domestic  hog,  but  the 
animal  for  some  unknown  reason  began  eating  the 
salmon-berries  called  "achea,"  and  in  time  became 
herbivorous;  with  the  change  of  diet  it  gradually 
changed  its  habits,  growing  horns  and  losing  its 
back  teeth,  ultimately  becoming  the  caribou  of  the 
present. 

The  man  of  Tigara,  through  his  traditions,  has 
known  all  these  things  for  ages  past,  while  the  man 
of  science  is  only  finding  them  out  through  his 
patient  investigations. 

The  visitor  can  now  enter  into  an  interesting 
train  of  thought  while  saying  to  himself:  "What 
need  is  there  of  crossing  the  wide  ocean,  with 
the  delusion  we  are  visiting  the  old  world,  while 
there  are  here  in  our  own  country  the  oldest 
Americans,  a  race  of  men  who,  according  to  their 
traditions  and  the  rude  architecture  of  their  homes, 
can  antedate  any  people  to  be  seen  by  the  tourist  on 
his  beaten  lines  of  travel  ?  " 

22 


II 

The  Tragedy  of  The  Three  Brothers 


II 

THE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE  THREE  BROTHERS 

IN  the  east  not  far  from  the  region  of  the  Ro- 
manzoff  Mountains,  toward  the  land  of  the  Cogmo- 
liks,  there  lived  during  the  early  days  four  brothers. 
The  eldest  had  taken  a  trip  on  the  ocean  in  his  kyak 
or  light  skin  boat.  As  the  day  drew  to  a  close  he 
had  not  returned,  but  it  excited  no  attention  among 
the  members  of  the  family,  as  it  was  a  usual  thing 
for  any  of  the  people  to  stay  a  few  days  at  a  friendly 
iglo1  without  leaving  word  at  home  where  they 
were  going,  or  how  long  they  would  be  absent. 
Some  acquaintances  coming  along  reported  that 
they  had  not  seen  anything  of  the  missing  man  ; 
then  suspicion  began  to  be  aroused  that  everything 
might  not  be  right  and  a  search  was  instituted,  but 
no  trace  could  be  found  of  him  or  his  kyak;  no  one 
along  the  coast  seemed  able  to  throw  any  light  on 
his  whereabouts,  although  they  lent  their  aid  by 
joining  in  with  the  searching  party. 

1  Iglo,  a  mound  house. 
25 


Sketches  From   Oldest  America 

As  time  went  by,  all  hopes  of  the  missing  one's 
return  were  abandoned.  The  people  talked  about 
the  case  as  one  of  those  mysteries  which  had  no 
solution.  Then  later  on,  a  second  brother,  ventur 
ing  on  a  trip,  disappeared  as  completely  as  did  the 
first.  The  remaining  brothers  were  much  alarmed 
and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  A  third  brother 
started  out  determined  if  possible,  to  make  a  more 
thorough  investigation,  but  disappeared  the  same 
as  the  others. 

There  now  remained  only  Ahvooyoolacha,  the 
youngest  of  the  four.  He  was  bowed  down  with 
grief  at  the  great  loss  he  had  sustained,  but  it  re 
mained  for  him  to  solve  the  mystery.  He  went  out 
in  his  kyak  and  had  not  proceeded  far  from  shore 
when  his  attention  was  attracted  by  what  appeared 
to  be  a  whale  in  the  distance.  It  was  a  common 
sight  so  he  gave  it  no  heed,  and  even  when  the 
supposed  whale  came  closer  he  paid  no  attention 
to  it. 

Not  until  the  creature  came  very  near  and  charged 
him  with  a  huge  open  mouth  armed  with  great  teeth, 
did  he  become  alarmed.  What  to  do  he  did  not 
know;  there  was  no  chance  to  escape  to  the  shore; 
he  was  unarmed,  with  the  exception  of  a  spear  which 
26 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

seemed  altogether  too  insignificant  an  instrument 
to  defend  himself  with  against  such  a  huge  monster; 
yet  in  his  dilemma  it  was  the  only  chance  he  had. 
Grasping  the  spear  with  a  hand  rendered  firm  by 
despair,  he  awaited  the  right  moment,  and  just  as 
the  animal  was  about  to  close  its  massive  jaws  to 
crush  him  and  his  frail  kyak  (aiming  down  the 
throat,  his  fright  lending  strength  to  the  action)  he 
cast  the  spear  with  great  force.  The  aim  had  been 
good  and  the  throw  a  powerful  one.  The  creature 
instantly  dove  remaining  down  for  quite  a  while, 
then  floated  to  the  surface,  dead.  Upon  examining 
the  body,  it  was  found  to  be  as  large  as  that  of  a 
whale,  at  the  same  time  resembling  that  animal  in 
appearance,  but  in  addition  it  had  four  legs.  The 
mystery  had  been  solved  and  Ahvooyoolacha  at  last 
knew  the  fate  of  his  three  brothers. 

THE  WHALES  OF  ALASKA 

There  are  two  varieties  of  the  whale  much  sought 
for  on  account  of  the  baleen  they  yield.  The  Right 
Whale  of  the  Behring  Sea,  as  well  as  of  other  waters, 
and  the  Bow-head  that  makes  its  summer  run  along 
the  American  coast  as  far  as  the  Arctic  Archipelago. 
In  September  it  strikes  westward  to  Herald  Island, 
27 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

and  in  October  back  to  the  Behring  Sea,  where  it  is 
supposed  to  spend  the  winter  months  at  the  south 
ern  edge  of  the  ice.  It  is  one  of  the  large  members 
of  the  whale  family,  sometimes  attaining  a  length 
of  sixty  feet  or  more  and  yielding  whalebone  some 
times  over  twelve  feet  in  length.  The  Bow-head  is 
a  timid,  peaceful  animal,  preferring  to  visit  the  small 
bays  and  secluded  nooks  of  the  northern  coast, 
where  it  can  feed  unmolested. 

All  along  the  coast  of  Arctic  Alaska,  there  are 
lagoons  of  various  sizes;  many  of  them  have  streams 
as  feeders,  while  others  have  no  feeders  but  have 
openings  into  the  ocean,  which  become  temporarily 
obliterated  by  sand  when  there  is  a  heavy  sea 
breaking  on  shore. 

It  was  into  the  latter  form  of  lagoon  that,  a  very 
long  time  ago,  a  school  of  Bow-heads  had  entered. 
The  wind  blowing  on  shore  had  obliterated  the 
entrance,  so  the  whales  were  entrapped  with  ap 
parently  no  means  of  escape,  yet  they  all  crossed 
the  beach  and  regained  the  ocean,  a  feat  they  prob 
ably  could  not  accomplish  to-day.  The  people 
watched  them  as  they  worked  their  way  over  the 
beach,  the  large  ones  making  rapid  progress  while 
the  small  ones  were  very  slow. 
28 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

The  Killer  is  one  of  the  larger  members  of  the 
whale  family,  which  the  natives  prefer  not  to  at 
tack,  as  it  can  be  very  vicious  at  times.  Even  much 
further  south  than  Alaska,  the  creature  has  the 
reputation  among  the  shore  whalemen,  of  chasing 
the  boats  to  the  shore  occasionally  and  has  had 
many  victims.  Its  chief  food  is  the  seal  and  beluga, 
while  its  sly  disposition  enables  it  also  to  capture 
the  water  birds.  Placing  itself  just  beneath  the 
surface,  with  open  jaws,  it  emits  a  substance  that 
attracts  the  birds  who  settle  down  on  the  waves 
and  begin  feeding;  the  Killer  then  darts  forward, 
capturing  the  birds  which  it  quickly  devours.  It  is 
also  said  sometimes  to  attack  as  large  an  animal  as 
the  Fin-back. 


29 


Ill 

The  Metigewek 


Ill 

THE  METIGEWEK 

THE  Metigewek  was  the  largest  of  the  numerous 
traditionary  birds  of  Tigara.  Its  enormous  size  and 
strength  enabled  it  to  seize  and  bear  to  the  interior 
the  whales  on  which  it  used  to  feed.  Even  to-day 
when  the  older  inhabitants  find  the  skeleton  of  a 
whale,  back  from  the  coast  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  they  declare  it  was  the  victim  of  a  Metige 
wek  at  some  remote  time  of  the  past. 

One  of  the  earlier  inhabitants  has  been  credited 
with  a  somewhat  similar  experience  to  that  of 
Ganymede. 

A  hunter  having  killed  a  deer  was  in  the  act  of 
cutting  it  up  preparatory  to  carrying  it  home. 
Noticing  a  shadow  coming  over  the  ground,  he 
looked  up  just  as  a  Metigewek  swooped  down  and 
seized  him  in  its  enormous  claws  and  bore  him 
aloft.  The  bird  carried  him  to  a  great  height,  so 
that  the  earth  was  almost  lost  to  view.  The  man 
having  retained  his  spear  began  stabbing  the  bird ; 
at  last  the  wounds  proving  fatal,  the  Metigewek 

33 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

gradually  descended  and  reached  the  earth  just  as  it 
expired.  That  night  the  hunter  slept  under  the 
wing  of  the  bird,  ultimately  reaching  his  home  in 
safety. 


34 


IV 

Origin  of  Man 


IV 

ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

THERE  is  a  fascination  at  the  camp-fire.  Men 
that  have  remained  silent  through  the  day  will  be 
come  entertaining  under  the  genial  influence  of  the 
crackling  logs  as  they  blaze  and  send  their  myriads 
of  sparks  skyward.  So  this  evening  as  I  examine 
the  notes  in  my  Polar  log-book,  collected  at  many 
of  those  fires,  I  find  that  man,  no  matter  how  hu 
miliating  the  admission  may  be,  is  forced  to  yield 
the  palm  of  antiquity  to  woman  and— chewing 
gum.  Yet  as  we  pause  to  consider  the  subject, 
from  the  Polar  man's  point  of  view,  it  is  but  natural 
that  woman  should  be  first,  for  without  her  aid 
there  certainly  would  be  no  men. 

My  log-book  says  that  at  a  very  early  time  of  the 
world's  history,  long  before  day  and  night  had  been 
created,  or  the  first  man  had  made  his  appearance, 
there  lived  an  old  woman,  indeed  very  old,  for  the 
tradition  of  her  having  had  a  beginning,  if  there 
ever  was  such  a  one,  had  been  lost.  We  must  bear 
in  mind  that  during  the  first  stage  of  the  world 

37 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

everything  remained  young  and  fresh;  nothing 
grew  old.  It  was  not  until  a  much  later  date  that 
the  indiscretion  of  a  boy  brought  those  physiolog 
ical  changes  known  as  growing  old  into  the  world 
and  placed  a  limitation  to  the  period  of  youth.  The 
old  woman  was  like  a  young  girl  in  her  appearance 
and  feelings,  and  being  the  only  inhabitant  of  the 
earth,  naturally  felt  very  lonesome  and  wished  for  a 
companion.  She  was  one  time  chewing  "pooya" 
(chewing  gum)  when  the  thought  arose  in  her 
mind  that  it  would  be  pleasant  to  have  an  image  to 
play  with,  so  taking  her  "pooya"  she  fashioned  a 
man,  then  by  way  of  ornamentation  placed  a  raven's 
beak  on  his  forehead. 

She  was  delighted  with  her  success  in  making 
such  a  lovely  image  and  on  lying  down  to  sleep 
placed  it  near  her  side.  On  awakening  her  joy  was 
great,  for  the  image  had  come  to  life  and  there  be 
fore  her  was  the  first  man. 


V 
What  Brought  Age  Into  the  World 


WHAT  BROUGHT  AGE  INTO  THE  WORLD 

AT  a  time  long  ago,  before  old  age  had  been  in 
troduced  and  while  our  early  ancestors  were  still 
enjoying  a  state  of  perpetual  youth,  a  boy  was 
living  with  his  grandmother.  One  day  she  re 
marked  that  they  were  out  of  provisions,  to  which 
he  replied:  "Never  mind,  grandma,  I  will  set  a 
snare  and  we  will  quickly  have  an  owl  to  feast  on." 
He  skipped  merrily  off  and  soon  had  ensnared  a 
large  white  owl.  On  approaching  the  bird,  the  fol 
lowing  conversation  took  place: 

Owl—"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  me  ?" 

Boy — "  I  am  going  to  kill  and  eat  you." 

Owl—"  Don't  you  do  it." 

Boy-— "Why  not?" 

Owl— "If  you  kill  me,  I  will  make  you  an  old 
man." 

Boy — "Grandma  and  I  are  hungry,  and  we  are 
going  to  eat  you." 

Owl— "Again  I  warn  you,  if  you  kill  me  I  will 
make  an  old  man  of  you." 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

Notwithstanding  the  warning,  the  boy  killed  the 
owl  and  started  to  carry  it  home. 

Household  duties  did  not  hang  heavily  on  the 
ladies  of  that  day,  so  grandma  was  killing  time  by 
watching  for  the  boy's  return.  At  last,  slowly  ap 
proaching  and  dragging  a  large  white  owl,  she  saw 
a  withered  old  man,  stricken  with  the  infirmities  of 
age.  It  was  her  grandson  who  had  left  her  but  a 
short  time  previous,  a  merry,  happy  youth. 

So  old  age  was  introduced  into  the  world  for  the 
first  time  and  has  continued  ever  since.  And  often 
since  that  day  many  an  old  Inupash *  who  has  felt 
the  infirmity  of  age  coming  on  has  sighed  and  sin 
cerely  wished  that  the  boy  had  shown  more  discre 
tion  by  hearkening  to  the  warning  of  the  owl. 

i  Inupash,  native  Arctic  inhabitant. 


VI 

Toongna 


VI 

TOONGNA 

THE  belief  in  an  evil  spirit  is  in  all  probability  as 
old  as  the  inhabitated  world.  It  seems  to  be  one  of 
those  traditions  that  has  descended  with  man  from 
the  most  remote  times,  not  having  lost  but  having 
gained  strength  through  its  long  ages  of  descent. 
No  matter  where  one  may  travel,  he  finds  the  ma 
jority  of  mankind  firm  believers  in  such  a  spirit. 

Even  here  in  the  far  North  among  the  Polarites 
there  is  such  a  belief.  "Toongna,"  the  evil  one,  is 
supposed  to  be  the  adversary  of  man,  and  to  him  is 
ascribed  all  the  misfortunes  that  afflict  the  people. 
Some  he  makes  sick,  while  others  he  causes  to  be 
unfortunate  in  their  undertakings.  If  a  mother  loses 
her  new-born  babe,  Toongna  was  at  the  bottom  of 
the  misfortune,  and  she  is  placed  under  the  super 
stitious  ban  called  "Karookto,"  not  being  allowed 
to  mingle  with  the  rest  of  the  villagers  for  a  number 
of  months,  and  the  same  tribal  law  is  enforced  in 
all  families  where  death  has  occurred.  Should  a 
hunting  party  visit  the  interior  in  quest  of  deer  and 
45 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

not  meet  with  success,  Toongna  has  followed  them 
and  been  the  cause  of  their  failure.  Should  foul 
weather  with  heavy  gales  arise  at  an  undesirable 
time,  Toongna  has  been  the  cause.  Hence  the 
necessity  for  some  one  having  the  power  to  expel 
this  evil  spirit  that  afflicts  man  in  such  various  ways; 
and  the  "ongootkoot,"  rising  to  the  emergency  of 
the  occasion  by  pretending  to  have  the  desired 
power,  early  became  the  important  man  of  the 
tribe. 

"  Toongna  "  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  un 
fortunate  spirits  unworthy  of  having  a  history,  for 
if  he  ever  was  on  earth  as  a  mortal  his  parents  dis 
owned  him,  and  no  one  seems  to  have  the  least  am 
bition  to  be  considered  one  of  his  descendants. 

He  is  simply  a  nagger  of  men  that  has  had  his  day. 
Under  the  growing  enlightenment  of  the  people,  his 
supposed  power  is  diminishing,  and  the  "  karookto" 
is  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past. 


VII 

The  "Ongootkoot" 


VII 

THE  "ONGOOTKOOT" 

THE  "Ongootkoot"  is  the  sorcerer,  prophet  and 
historian.  He  claims  to  have  the  power  of  expelling 
"Toongna"  by  his  enchantments,  and  can  do  such 
marvelous  things  as  change  the  wind,  drive  off 
eclipses,  avert  or  drive  off  misfortunes  and  expel  the 
evil  one  from  the  sick.  There  are  two  ways  of  be 
coming  an  "Ongootkoot" — one  is  by  inheritance, 
the  other  by  claiming  to  have  performed  some  mar 
velous  act.  The  Polar  inhabitants  are  a  primitive, 
confiding  people,  so  when  one  claims  to  have  per 
formed  an  act  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature,  there 
are  no  questions  asked  or  inquiry  made;  the  state 
ment  is  simply  accepted  as  a  truth. 

At  one  time  long  ago  there  lived  a  villager  who 
had  lost  both  his  feet.  He,  being  an  invalid,  re 
mained  in  his  iglo,  simply  existing  as  an  object  of 
charity  to  the  neighbors,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
supplying  him  with  food.  During  the  fall  of  the 
year,  when  the  weather  was  growing  cold,  there 
occurred  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  at  the  same  time  a 
49 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

severe  earthquake  gave  the  inhabitants  great  alarm. 
The  ground  moved  and  rolled  like  the  ocean  waves, 
while  large  crevices  opened  in  many  places  allowing 
smoke  and  sulphurous  vapors  to  escape. 

The  people  in  their  fright  rushed  out  from  their 
homes;  the  invalid,  forgetting  his  crippled  condi 
tion,  also  sought  the  open  air  and  began  jumping 
down  the  beach  on  his  stumps,  or  as  the  people  said, 
"  He  jumped  big."  No  doubt  the  alarm  added  to  his 
alacrity  in  his  effort  to  escape,  thus  gaining  for  him 
the  reputation  of  being  an  excellent  jumper.  The 
eclipse  passed  off,  so  also  did  the  earthquake,  but 
the  villagers  all  declared  that  it  was  the  jumping  of 
the  invalid  that  caused  the  phenomena  of  nature  to 
cease,  and  after  that,  instead  of  being  an  obscure 
cripple,  an  object  of  charity  to  his  neighbors,  he 
arose  to  the  dignity  of  being  one  of  the  greatest  of 
"Ongootkoots."  If  any  of  the  inhabitants  were 
taken  ill,  the  cripple's  aid  was  solicited,  and  he 
would  jump  around  the  sick  one  a  few  times,  exor 
cising  the  evil  spirit  and  commanding  it  to  depart. 
If  hunting  parties  were  about  to  start  on  expedi 
tions,  they  could  not  expect  to  meet  with  success 
unless  the  cripple  had  jumped  around  them  and  their 
sled  a  number  of  times.  His  fame  extended 
50 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

throughout  the  surrounding  country,  his  services 
being  solicited  from  far  and  near,  and  he  soon  be 
came  quite  prosperous,  the  rule  among  "  Ongoot- 
koots  "  being  the  greater  the  pay,  the  more  effica 
cious  the  treatment. 

At  a  far  more  recent  day  it  was  discovered  that 
a  certain  Puneunau  had  a  great  admiration  for  his 
neighbor's  dogs,  he  considering  them  a  toothsome 
dish.  The  chief  banished  him  from  the  tribe,  with 
the  warning  that  if  he  returned,  the  death  penalty 
would  be  inflicted.  In  his  wanderings  Puneunau 
led  quite  a  checkered  career  with  its  accompanying 
hardships.  Several  times  starvation  seemed  to  stare 
him  in  the  face.  It  was  during  one  of  these  latter 
occasions  that  he  discovered  the  art  of  running  a 
small  slim  stick  down  his  throat  without  injury  or 
great  discomfort. 

After  the  death  of  the  chief,  Puneunau  returned 
to  the  village,  claiming  he  could  perform  a  marvel 
ous  feat,  and  in  proof  of  the  assertion  he  ran  the 
stick  down  his  throat,  then  went  around  uttering 
gutteral  sounds.  The  thing  seemed  wonderful  in 
the  eyes  of  the  villagers,  gaining  for  him  the  reputa 
tion  of  being  an  "Ongootkoot." 

One  thing  troubled  Puneunau,  however:  he  was 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

still  a  widower,  much  against  his  will,  not  for  any 
lack  of  perseverance  in  offering  himself  to  all  the 
neighboring  widows,  but  because  none  of  them 
would  accept  his  offer.  At  last  that  slight  difficulty 
was  removed.  A  widow  belonging  to  another 
tribe  came  to  the  village  with  her  children,  and  her 
son  being  ill,  Puneunau  offered  his  services  to  cure 
the  lad.  Day  after  day  he  would  go  to  the  iglo, 
run  the  stick  down  his  throat,  then  walk  around  ut 
tering  gutteral  sounds,  but  the  boy  refused  to  be 
cured  and  finally  died.  This,  however,  did  not  re 
lieve  the  widow  of  her  obligation  to  pay  the  "  On- 
gootkoot "  for  his  valuable  services,  and  as  she  was 
very  poor  and  had  nothing  with  which  to  meet  it, 
Puneunau  took  the  widow  herself  for  his  fee. 

The  Inupash  believe  there  are  spirits  wandering 
through  space.  Occasionally  one  of  them,  becom 
ing  discontented,  desires  to  enter  the  world  as  a 
human  being.  It  looks  around,  then  selects  some 
young  woman  about  ready  to  enter  womanhood, 
one  that  is  noted  for  her  virtue  and  other  good  quali 
ties,  to  become  its  mother.  Having  made  the  selec 
tion,  it  awaits  the  opportunity  and  uses  her  as  the 
medium  for  gaining  its  desire.  In  due  course  of 
time  a  child  is  born,  which  on  maturity  becomes  an 
52 


Sketches  From   Oldest   America 

"  Ongootkoot "  of  the  first  grade.  Such  births  of 
spirits,  desirous  of  entering  the  world  as  human 
beings,  it  is  said,  have  continued  down  until  com 
paratively  recent  times.  These  earth-born  spirits  had 
the  reputation  of  being  men  with  charmed  lives  who 
could  not  be  killed. 

"  Kownalia  "  was  such  an  one.  His  descendants 
will  often  relate  how,  when  just  born,  he  began 
talking  with  the  people,  conversing  like  an  adult. 
At  one  time  while  visiting  further  North,  he  and  a 
number  of  men  ventured  on  thin  ice;  the  ice  broke 
and  all  were  precipitated  into  the  water.  "  Kow 
nalia,"  stepping  on  the  backs  of  the  struggling  men, 
walked  to  the  shore  uninjured,  while  all  the  others 
perished. 

The  claims  for  "Ungmana,"  another  "Ongoot 
koot  "  of  the  first  grade,  were  that  he  could  lay  his 
abdomen  open,  then,  placing  fuel  inside,  set  the  mass 
on  fire,  the  people  being  allowed  to  witness  the 
blaze  and  smoke.  He  would  then  remove  the 
charred  mass,  and  on  closing  the  wound  there  would 
be  no  sign  left  of  an  injury  having  been  inflicted. 

These  "  Ongootkoots  "  have  undoubtedly  rendered 
a  service  to  their  people  in  the  past  by  acting  as  their 
historians  in  preserving  their  traditions;  they  have 

53 


Sketches   From   Oldest  America 

also  done  good  in  the  class  of  cases  where  nothing 
more  than  a  faith  cure  is  needed  for  the  sick.  Con 
cerning  the  latter,  the  Polarites  are  not  to  be  too  much 
condemned  when  we  consider  the  large  amount  of  su 
perstition  exhibited  by  some  of  the  more  civilized 
inhabitants  of  the  States,  who  have  unbounded  con 
fidence  in  their  "Faith  Healers."  The  marvelous 
claims  that  are  made  for  these  "Ongootkoots"  are  un 
doubtedly  due  to  the  zeal  of  their  descendants,  who 
are  naturally  anxious  to  place  their  ancestors  in  as 
favorable  a  light  as  possible,  especially  if  they 
themselves  aspire  to  become  "  Ongootkoots  "  by  in 
heritance.  It  is  also  doubtful  if  the  marvelous  deeds 
were  ever  known  until  the  man  had  been  dead  fifty 
years  or  more. 

The  "  Ongootkoot,"  however,  has  had  his  day  and 
is  now  on  the  decline.  One  often  hears  the  older 
people  say,  as  they  shake  their  heads,  that  he  is  not 
the  wonderful  man  he  was  in  the  days  of  old.  The 
young  people,  through  their  growing  enlighten 
ment,  are  also  losing  confidence  in  the  man  and  his 
claims.  Of  those  who  were  confirmed  by  the 
Bishop  of  Alaska  at  Point  Hope  in  the  summer  of 
1903,  four  were  directly  descended  from  spirits 
entering  the  world  as  human  beings;  but  they  dis- 
54 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

carded  their  supposed  birthrights  and  have  become 
zealous  church  workers.  Others  have  been  baptized 
and  married  to  their  wives,  and  are  making  good 
citizens  as  well  as  earnest  Christian  workers. 

Should  one  take  a  trip  through  the  Arctic  portion 
of  Inupash  land,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  would  meet 
with  very  many  really  non-Christians,  for  the  people 
are  now  accepting  the  Nazarene  as  their  great  good 
spirit.  The  workers  in  the  field  truly  taking  an  in 
terest  in  the  people  and  trying  to  benefit  their  con 
dition  have  been  few,  but  the  people  themselves 
have  spread  the  teachings  they  have  received,  and 
the  seed  has  fallen  on  fertile  ground.  It  is  true  there 
is  yet  much  of  the  old  superstition  of  the  past,  but 
it  has  had  its  day  and  is  gradually  lessening  its  hold 
on  the  people. 


55 


VIII 

Webukside 


VIII 

WEBUKSIDE 

THERE  is  a  firm  belief  among  the  Polarites  that  a 
time  is  to  arrive  when  the  world  will  come  to  an 
end,  it  being  known  as  "  Webukside  "  or  the  Judg 
ment  Day.  "Tooloogigra,"  the  great  and  good 
spirit  who  was  once  on  earth  as  a  mortal,  will  be 
present  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  All  are  to 
be  examined.  The  wicked,  who  through  the  sinful 
lives  they  led  while  on  earth  have  not  merited  eternal 
happiness,  are  to  be  rejected  and  consumed  in  the 
great  fire  which  will  finally  destroy  the  world. 
Those  whose  good  lives  have  earned  for  them 
eternal  joy  are  to  be  saved;  they  are  to  pass  with 
"Tooloogigra"  into  their  future  home,  where  they 
will  live  forever,  free  from  all  cares,  or  sorrows,  or 
suffering  of  any  kind. 

When  a  man  dies,  it  is  believed  that  after  the 
third  night  some  member  of  the  tribe,  who  has 
made  the  journey  before,  visits  the  grave  to  conduct 
the  new  one  to  his  home  where  he  is  to  remain 
while  awaiting  the  coming  of  "Webukside."  On 
59 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

the  fourth  day  after  a  death,  some  member  of  the 
family  strikes  four  blows  with  a  hammer,  at  the  re 
cent  home  of  the  deceased,  which  is  a  sign  of  fare 
well  and  means  that  the  spirit  is  not  to  return  to 
that  iglo  again.  With  a  woman,  it  takes  one  day 
longer  to  pass  to  the  place  of  waiting,  so  not  until 
after  the  fourth  night  are  the  knocks  made.  The 
dead  have  deer-skin  masks  over  their  faces  and  their 
hands  are  encased  in  mittens. 

Like  the  Jews  who  have  so  long  been  awaiting 
the  coming  of  their  Messiah,  so  the  Inupash  have 
been  waiting  and  looking  for  the  return  of  "  Tooloo- 
gigra  "  for  ages  past.  Besides  liberating  day  and 
night  from  their  confinement  (during  his  childhood), 
"  Tooloogigra  "  has  been  credited  with  one  miracle. 
When  grown  to  manhood,  he  was  once  making  a 
long  ocean  voyage  with  some  companions  in  their 
kyaks,  and  being  thirsty,  he  longed  to  reach  some 
land  where  fresh  water  could  be  procured.  His 
thirst  becoming  urgent,  he  cast  his  spear,  and  the 
western  portion  of  the  land  now  known  as  Point 
Hope  arose  from  the  water.  The  village  of  Tigara 
is  at  the  extremity  of  the  storm  swept  point,  which 
used  to  extend  westward  much  further. 

When  "  Tooloogigra "  had  fulfilled  his  time  on 
60 


Sketches  Prom    Oldest  America 

earth,  he  did  not  die  as  an  ordinary  mortal,  but  as 
cended  into  the  sky,  the  people  standing  below, 
watching  him  until  he  had  faded  from  sight  in  the 
distance. 


IX 

Birth  of  Tooloogigra 


IX 

BIRTH  OF  TOOLOOGTGRA 

AT  the  remote  time  of  the  earth's  history  when 
these  northern  regions  were  clothed  in  a  verdure  of 
ferns  and  trees,  nature  presenting  a  far  different  ap 
pearance  than  at  present,  men  had  begun  to  multi 
ply  on  the  face  of  the  earth  and  were  living  in  a 
state  of  pristine  contentment.  The  necessity  for 
building  homes  to  shelter  the  people  had  not  yet  ar 
rived;  the  trials  and  perplexities  of  the  busy  world 
were  unknown,  and  the  ambition  for  riches  had  not 
become  the  absorbing  problem  of  the  day.  Day 
and  night,  according  to  tradition,  had  not  been 
liberated  from  their  confinement  to  bestow  their 
many  benefits  on  the  human  race,  neither  had  that 
heedless  youth  been  born  who  introduced  old  age 
with  its  undesirable  sequelae  into  the  world. 

At  this  time  there  lived  a  man  who  was  looked 
upon  as  a  powerful  chieftain.  His  home  was  a 
simple  shelter,  furnished  in  the  rude  fashion  of 
those  days,  but  what  seemed  to  place  him  above 
his  fellow  men  and  stamped  him  as  being  no  ordi- 

65 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

nary  mortal  were  two  balls  hanging  up  in  his  home, 
which  he  guarded  zealously  ;  one  was  bright  and 
beautiful,  the  other  dark.  Living  with  the  chieftain 
were  his  wife  and  daughter,  the  latter  just  budding 
into  womanhood.  She  was  noted  for  her  many 
virtues,  while  her  laughing,  merry  disposition  ren 
dered  her  a  favorite  among  the  people,  and  her 
society  was  much  sought. 

Wandering  through  space  just  then  was  a  spirit 
grown  tired  of  the  aimless  life  it  was  leading.  It 
longed  to  enter  the  world,  to  become  a  mortal  like  the 
merry,  happy  people  whom  it  daily  saw.  There  was 
but  one  way  in  which  the  spirit  could  gain  its  desire; 
that  was  to  be  born  into  the  world.  On  looking 
around  in  its  wanderings,  it  fell  in  love  with  the 
great  virtue  and  beauty  of  the  chieftain's  daughter 
and  decided  she  should  be  its  medium  for  entering 
the  world,  and  therefore  hovered  around  awaiting 
its  opportunity. 

One  day  the  young  woman's  mother  requested 
her  to  visit  the  spring  as  she  wished  some  fresh, 
cool  water.  The  girl,  like  a  dutiful  daughter,  skipped 
off  merrily  to  fulfil  her  mother's  command. 

The  spirit  having  heard  the  mother's  request,  has 
tened  forward  and  entered  the  spring.  The  day 
66 


Sketches  From   Oldest   America 

was  warm,  the  water  looked  inviting,  and  the 
young  princess,  being  thirsty,  first  dipped  up  for 
herself  some  of  the  clear  sparkling  water,  and  with 
it  dipped  up  the  spirit.  Taking  a  long  drink,  which 
seemed  particularly  refreshing,  she  swallowed  the 
spirit,  and  returning  to  her  mother,  not  dreaming  of 
what  had  occurred,  she  was  soon  at  play  with  her 
companions.  As  time  went  by  the  spirit  grew  and 
the  princess  became  the  mother  of  a  son.  She 
named  him  "  Tooloogigra,"  and  the  oldest  Ameri 
cans  of  the  Arctic  have  ever  since  looked  upon  him 
as  their  great  spirit. 


67 


Day  and  Night 


X 

DAY  AND  NIGHT 

YOUNG  "  Tooloogigra,"  inheriting  his  mother's 
happy  disposition,  was  soon  the  pet  of  his  grand 
parents.  As  he  began  to  run  around,  he  became  in 
fatuated  with  the  bright  ball  that  he  saw  hanging 
in  his  home,  but  his  grandfather  would  let  him  have 
only  the  dark  one  to  play  with.  He  rolled  it  around 
in  his  childish  play,  yet  it  did  not  meet  with  his 
fancy.  He  often  cried  and  teased  grandpa  for  the 
other  one.  The  old  chieftain,  although  very  affec 
tionate  and  indulgent  in  every  other  respect,  refused 
to  let  his  young  grandson  have  the  bright  ball  that 
he  had  been  guarding  so  faithfully  for  so  many 
years. 

At  last  an  opportunity  arrived  for  the  boy  to  gain 
his  desire.  The  chieftain  was  absent  from  home 
and  some  people  venturing  into  the  place  were 
amazed  at  the  great  beauty  of  the  balls.  Curiosity 
has  always  been  a  strong  element  in  the  human 
character,  and  as  the  people  of  that  day  were  no  ex 
ception  to  the  rule,  they  soon  experienced  a  desire 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

to  examine  those  balls.  Unfastening  the  bright  one 
from  its  place  of  confinement,  they  carried  it  outside 
to  admire,  when  little  "Tooloogigra,"  gaining  pos 
session,  broke  the  ball  with  his  hands.  Instantly  a 
bright  light,  which  had  been  kept  in  confinement, 
escaped,  flooding  the  world  with  daylight  for  the 
first  time.  The  people  in  their  amazement  threw 
up  their  hands  and  cried  "couru,"  which  has  ever 
since  remained  the  name  for  daylight. 

Not  satisfied  with  their  experience  and  the  changed 
condition  of  things,  they  soon  had  the  second  ball 
unfastened  and  in  their  hands,  when  little  "  Tooloo- 
gigra,"  gaining  possession  of  this  also,  broke  it  as 
he  had  the  first.  A  dark  vapor  was  liberated, 
which,  spreading  over  the  earth,  extinguished  the 
bright  light.  The  people  then  cried  "oongnoo," 
from  which  has  been  derived  "  oongnoorpuk " 
— night. 

Ever  since  that  time,  many  a  polar  mother  has  in 
terested  her  children  by  telling  them  how  young 
"  Tooloogigra  "  liberated  day  and  night  from  their 
confinement. 


XI 

Man's  First  Constructed  Home 


XI 

MAN'S  FIRST  CONSTRUCTED  HOME 

NORTH  AMERICA,  having  gradually  emerged  from 
the  water,  had  come  into  existence.  To  the  east  of 
Alaska,  the  warm  Atlantic  currents  had  become  re 
stricted  by  the  rising  land  and  did  not  flow  so 
freely  as  formerly.  To  the  south,  the  Seward  Pen 
insula  was  forming,  first  appearing  as  a  string  of 
islands  with  shoals,  then  gradually  rising  more  and 
more,  until  it  restricted  the  ocean  currents  from  the 
Pacific.  The  Arctic  regions,  being  deprived  of  their 
warming  influences,  were  beginning  to  feel  the  cold 
of  winter. 

The  birds  had  taken  the  warning  and  were  com 
mencing  to  form  their  migratory  habits  by  flying 
south  to  escape  the  cold  and  to  find  regions  where 
their  food  supply  was  more  abundant,  returning 
north  each  summer  to  their  earlier  homes  for  the 
nesting  season.  The  mammoth  had  also  appar 
ently  tried  to  make  its  escape,  but  had  perished  in 
large  numbers  in  the  region  of  Escholtz  Bay,  at  a 
section  often  called  the  Mammoth  Graveyard.  The 
75 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

birds  and  ducks  seemed  to  be  trying  to  overtake 
the  retreating  sun  as  it  worked  its  way  southward, 
the  godwit  continuing  its  flight  as  far  as  New 
Zealand,  where  it  yet  continues  to  spend  the  winter 
months. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Alaska,  in  trying  to 
make  their  escape  from  the  cold,  apparently  pre 
ferred  to  follow  the  sun  in  its  western  course. 
These  people  had  progressed  far  enough  to  know 
the  art  of  canoe  building.  The  remains  of  three  of 
their  canoes  are  to  be  seen  to-day  on  mountains  in 
land,  where  they  have  been  well  preserved  by  the 
ice  and  snow,  remaining  as  silent  witnesses  of  an 
early  day  and  showing  where  the  ocean  used  to  be 
in  the  remote  past.  Also  on  higher  ground  inland 
can  be  seen  the  skeleton  of  a  whale;  while  on  the 
Seward  Peninsula,  on  land  between  four  and  five 
hundred  feet  higher  than  the  ocean,  an  acquaintance 
found  a  driftwood  log  in  a  fair  state  of  preserva 
tion.  The  people,  following  the  chain  of  islands 
which  separate  Behring  Sea  from  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
reached  Siberia,  which  they  probably  crossed.  We 
read  that  there  lived  in  Europe  at  a  very  early  date, 
a  rude  race  of  hunters  and  fishers,  closely  allied  to 
the  Eskimos,  who  were  apparently  driven  there 
76 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

from  the  east  by  the  increasing  cold.  They  seem 
to  have  made  an  impression  on  the  older  languages 
of  Europe  in  the  line  of  their  words  and  grammar, 
and  it  is  also  probable  that  their  tradition  of  the 
earliest  state  of  man  may  have  led  to  the  fable  of 
the  sea  nymph. 

The  Seward  Peninsula  continued  rising  until  at 
last  it  entirely  emerged  above  the  water,  disclosing 
those  wonderful  deposits  of  gold  that  of  late  years 
have  made  Nome  famous  throughout  the  world. 
The  rising  land  formed  a  barrier  against  the  warm 
ing  influence  of  the  Japan  current.  Then  the  Arctic 
winters  set  in  with  their  utmost  severity,  continuing 
until  at  last  Nature  came  to  the  relief  of  this  ice 
bound  region.  A  portion  of  the  land  nearest  Asia 
sank,  forming  what  is  now  known  as  the  Behring 
Straits,  again  admitting  the  Japan  current  to  exert 
its  ameliorating  influence  on  the  Arctic  sections. 
Our  seasons  then  assumed  pretty  much  the  same 
conditions  they  have  now.  Tradition  states  that  in 
the  past  there  have  been  severe  earthquakes  in  this 
section  and  it  may  be  due  to  such  a  cause  that  the 
land  subsided. 

As  the  seasons  grew  more  and  more  severe, 
Nature,  according  to  tradition,  took  care  of  the  seal 
77 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

and  the  wolf,  by  changing  the  fat  of  the  former  to 
the  blubber  of  to-day,  and  by  causing  the  thin,  short 
hair  of  the  latter  to  grow  into  the  thick,  warm  fur 
of  the  present.  Man,  with  his  superior  intellect, 
was  left  to  solve  his  own  problem.  Those  people 
who  had  remained  behind  soon  found  that  their 
cave-dwellings  were  not  a  sufficient  protection 
against  the  cold,  which  was  recurring  with  greater 
severity  each  succeeding  winter,  and  undoubtedly 
many  perished.  The  polar  bear  had  solved  the 
problem  of  sheltering  herself  by  building  a  home, 
according  to  circumstances,  either  on  the  land,  or  on 
the  ocean  ice,  and  it  was  the  latter  that  suggested 
to  man  how  to  construct  his  first  mound  house, 
called  iglo. 

The  female  bear,  in  making  the  winter  home  in 
which  her  cub  is  born,  selects  a  site  where  the  ocean 
ice  extends  up  against  a  cliff,  and  where  the  snow 
has  drifted  the  deepest;  with  her  massive  paws  she 
digs  into  the  drift,  throwing  the  snow  behind  her. 
The  entrance  becomes  filled,  while  the  drifting 
snow  soon  obliterates  any  external  sign  of  her 
presence.  A  good-sized  room  is  formed  and  a 
small  hole  in  the  roof,  made  by  the  warmth  inside, 
acts  as  a  ventilator.  The  escaping  steam  is  the  sign 
78 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

which  shows  the  hunter  where  a  bear  is  to  be  pro 
cured.  She  makes  a  hole  in  the  ice,  at  one  end  of 
the  room,  through  which  she  can  dive  to  procure  a 
seal  when  hungry.  Here  she  has  a  warm,  com 
fortable  home  for  herself  and  cub,  where  they  re 
main  until  the  warmer  weather  of  spring  reminds 
the  family  that  it  is  time  to  begin  their  travels  with 
the  ice  pack. 

Man  imitated  the  bear  in  constructing  his  iglo. 
First  excavating  the  ground  for  a  short  distance,  he 
erected  over  it  a  frame  of  driftwood  and  whale 
jaws.  At  one  end  of  the  room  the  excavation  was 
made  somewhat  deeper,  a  hole  large  enough  to  ad 
mit  a  man  being  left  in  the  floor  over  the  excavation 
to  serve  as  an  entrance,  and  a  driftwood  passageway 
ending  at  a  mound  left  open  at  the  top,  whose 
elevation  prevented  the  snow  drifting  in,  made  an  exit 
to  the  outer  world.  A  small  hole  in  the  roof  of  the 
one  room  acted  as  a  ventilator  and  a  larger  one 
covered  with  the  dried  intestines  of  a  seal  served  as 
a  window.  All  was  then  covered  over  with  sods 
and  earth,  making  a  home  constructed  on  the  same 
principle  as  that  of  the  bear;  one  that  resisted  the 
cold  and  could  be  easily  warmed  by  the  seal-oil 
lamp.  The  same  principle  is  still  adhered  to  in 
79 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

constructing  the  modern  iglo,  though  a  small  room 
has  been  added  at  the  entrance  to  serve  as  a  cook 
ing  room,  while  for  the  hole  in  the  floor  for  an  en 
trance  a  small  door  has  been  substituted. 


80 


XII 

The  Mammoth 


XII 

THE  MAMMOTH 

THE  traditions  regarding  the  mammoth,  called  the 
"keleegewuk,"  are  few  and  short.  They  are  not 
of  an  interesting  nature,  further  than  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  great  age  of  these  traditions.  They  were 
undoubtedly  much  longer  at  first,  but  by  their  de 
scent  through  a  vast  length  of  time,  they  now  ap 
pear  in  their  present  curtailment.  There  is  one  that 
gives  a  slight  insight  into  the  condition  of  those 
early  days,  both  as  regards  the  heat  of  the  weather, 
and  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  with  the 
wolf. 

A  man  had  gone  into  the  interior  on  a  hunting  ex 
pedition.  The  weather  proved  to  be  very  warm,  so 
he  sought  the  shelter  of  a  cave,  intending  to  await 
the  passing  of  the  heat  of  the  day.  He  had  not  been 
in  the  shelter  long  before  the  sound  of  a  heavy  ani 
mal  passing  rapidly  over  the  earth  greeted  his  ears, 
and  on  looking  out  he  saw  a  mammoth  in  full  flight, 
the  huge  creature  exhibiting  great  fear,  as  it  was 
being  chased  by  a  thin,  short-haired  wolf.  The 
83 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

man  watched  the  two  until  they  had  passed  from 
sight. 

The  fear  exhibited  by  the  mammoth  for  so  small 
an  animal  as  the  wolf  puts  one  in  mind  of  the  re 
ports  that  the  modern  elephant  will  occasionally  ex 
hibit  much  alarm  when  a  mouse  appears  in  its  ex- 
closure. 


XIII 

Fire-Making 


XIII 

FIRE-MAKING 

THE  art  of  fire-making  was  known  among  these 
people  at  a  very  remote  time.  The  earliest  method 
appears  to  have  been  through  the  agency  of  iron 
pyrites,  called  "cozgeen"  or  "igneen,"  and  from 
the  latter  has  been  derived  "ignek,"  the  Tigara  word 
for  fire.  Two  pieces  of  "  igneen,"  being  struck  to 
gether,  would  emit  a  spark  ;  a  small-sized  heap  of 
tinder  being  placed  on  the  ground  the  operator 
would  continue  striking  the  glancing  blows  until  a 
lucky  spark  ignited  the  mass.  The  operation,  to 
say  the  least,  must  have  required  a  great  amount  of 
patience  on  the  part  of  the  operator.  It  was  the 
only  method  of  fire-making  known  for  a  great  length 
of  time;  then  the  second  method  was  happily  dis 
covered. 

It  had  been  found  that  a  small  round  stick  with  a 
piece  of  flint  inserted  in  the  end,  revolved  by  hand, 
would  bore  through  bone,  ivory  or  even  stone. 
Later  on  some  inventive  genius  introduced  the  bow 
and  string,  w  devolve  the  instrument  more  rapidly, 


\ 

V 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

while  a  wooden  mouth-piece  was  used  to  exert  pres 
sure  and  to  steady  the  instrument.  It  is  still  in  use 
for  boring,  a  piece  of  wire  having  replaced  the  flint. 
After  the  introduction  of  the  bow  and  string  and  the 
mouth-piece,  it  was  found  that  the  rapidly  revolving 
tool  excited  friction  enough  to  produce  fire.  That 
was  the  second  method  known,  but  it  did  not  dis 
place  the  "igneen"  which  continued  in  use  until 
rendered  obsolete  by  the  well-known  flint  and  steel. 
This  last  is  of  comparatively  recent  introduction, 
iron  not  having  been  known  in  Alaska  until  the  past 
fifty  or  sixty  years.  The  domestic  match,  however, 
has  now  almost  displaced  all  the  other  methods, 
although  the  flint  and  steel  are  still  in  use  with  some 
of  the  older  smokers. 


88 


XIV 

Instruments 


XIV 

INSTRUMENTS 

MAN  is  more  poorly  endowed,  both  as  regards 
speed  and  natural  weapons  of  defense,  than  almost 
any  other  member  of  the  animal  kingdom.  Had  it 
not  been  for  his  superior  intellect  from  the  first,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  exterminated  long 
ago.  From  the  earliest  time  he  has  been  forced  to 
exercise  his  ingenuity  to  make  amends  for  the  nat 
ural  inferiority  he  labored  under  in  striving  for  his 
food,  yet  he  has  advanced  step  by  step  until  he  has 
proved  his  superiority  by  subduing  all  the  other 
creatures  of  his  kingdom,  standing  to-day  without 
a  rival,  his  only  capable  adversary  being  his  fellow 
man. 

There  was,  of  course,  a  very  early  prehistoric 
time,  at  which  he  was  forced  to  procure  his  food 
without  artificial  aid,  the  Inupash  will  tell  you; 
then,  as  his  inventive  genius  began  exercising  itself, 
a  stone  with  a  thong  attached  was  employed  to  dis 
patch  the  game  he  sought.  The  stick  sharpened  at 
one  end  was  probably  introduced  about  the  same 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

time,  it  being  the  forerunner  of  the  spear,  which  has 
proved  as  useful  for  small  game  as  it  has  for  the 
great  brown  bear.  When  the  animal  charged,  the 
hunter  quickly  placed  the  butt  of  the  spear  on  the 
ground,  and  the  bear,  thus  coming  in  contact  with 
the  sharpened  end,  was  pierced  and  killed.  The 
noose  also  proved  of  service  for  bear  and  deer.  If 
hunting  the  former,  a  steep  bank,  where  the  crea 
ture  was  known  to  walk,  was  chosen  and  the  noose 
set.  On  becoming  entangled,  the  bear  in  its  strug 
gle  fell  over  the  bank,  where  it  would  hang  until 
dead.  The  sling  probably  never  proved  very  effica 
cious,  as  its  accuracy  for  birds  on  the  wing  is  too 
uncertain.  It  was  useful  for  casting  stones  into  the 
ocean  to  frighten  and  drive  the  beluga  into  the  nets 
set  for  that  purpose.  The  "  kalimetown  "  was  a  far 
more  effective  instrument.  It  was  made  of  seven 
small  ivory  balls,  each  having  a  string  of  deer  sinew 
attached,  the  strings  being  joined  at  the  end  by  a 
feather.  On  being  thrown  into  a  flock  of  ducks  on 
the  wing,  any  one  of  the  balls  striking  a  bird  would 
act  as  a  pivot  for  the  others  to  encircle  the  victim 
and  bring  it  to  the  ground. 

Bone  or  ivory  hooks  were  used  in  fishing  through 
the  ice,  the  line  being  made  from  strips  of  whale- 
92 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

bone  or  spines  from  the  feather  of  the  gannet.  A 
spear  formed  from  two  pieces  of  bone  arranged  in 
the  shape  of  a  V  proved  effective  in  capturing  fish. 
The  net  was  of  service,  not  only  for  fish  and  beluga, 
but  also  for  ptarmigan  and  foxes.  For  the  latter,  it 
was  set  stationary,  the  hunters  remaining  hidden  in 
snow  shelters  constructed  for  the  occasion.  On  the 
approach  of  a  fox,  the  men  in  hiding  jumped  up  and 
made  a  noise,  and  the  frightened  creature  in  its 
efforts  to  escape  was  driven  forward  into  the  net. 
In  netting  ptarmigan,  the  only  caution  necessary  is 
not  to  frighten  the  birds,  but  to  keep  them  walking 
forward  slowly.  The  meshes  of  the  net  are  large 
and  of  fine  sinew;  the  bird  on  attempting  to  pass 
through,  becomes  entangled.  On  the  cliffs,  during 
the  summer  months,  the  hand-net  on  a  pole  is  a 
favorite  device  for  capturing  the  murres,  which  fly 
back  and  forth  among  the  rocks  in  immense  num 
bers,  making  one  continuous  war  night  and  day. 
These  methods  of  hunting  are  all  very  old,  yet  all 
are  still  in  use  among  the  Inupash  with  the  excep 
tion  of  that  of  netting  foxes,  the  net  having  been 
abandoned  for  the  steel  trap. 

Bows  and  arrows  are  of  very  ancient  origin,  too 
remote  to  trace  out  their  first  introduction.     The 
93 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

bow  was  made  from  selected  pieces  of  driftwood, 
reinforced  by  strips  of  whalebone,  and  bound  with 
deer  sinew.  The  arrow  had  two  principal  forms  of 
head,  one  of  brown  flint,  the  other  of  deer  horn, 
much  longer  than  the  first  and  nicked  on  the  sides, 
to  make  it  hold  in  the  wounded  game.  On  being 
struck,  an  animal  would  try  to  dislodge  the  arrow, 
giving  the  hunter  a  chance  to  send  a  second  one,  and 
so  it  would  continue  until  a  lucky  shot  proved  fatal. 
In  constructing  the  flint  arrow-heads,  two  instru 
ments  were  used,  the  "natkenn,"  a  small  hammer 
made  preferably  from  the  base  of  the  horn  of  a 
deer  where  it  enters  into  the  bony  portion  of  the 
skull,  and  the  "kigleen,"  a  kind  of  sharpener  made 
from  a  piece  of  deer  horn,  with  a  small  round  piece 
of  ivory  overlapping  and  bound  to  its  upper  surface. 
A  piece  of  flint  being  chosen,  the  man  making  the 
arrow-head  would  place  a  deerskin  mitten  on  his 
left  hand,  then,  placing  the  flint  on  the  palm  and 
wrist  of  the  protected  hand,  would  strike  the  edge 
of  the  flint  with  the  "  natkenn  "  so  that  small  slivers 
would  be  detached  from  the  under  surface.  The 
operation  would  be  continued  until  the  flint  had 
assumed  the  proper  shape,  and  then  the  "  kigleen  " 
was  employed  to  drive  and  make  the  edge  even. 
94 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

For  the  horn  arrow-heads,  deer  horns  were 
immersed  in  hot  water,  then  straightened  and 
shaped  with  stone  knives.  Two  pieces  of  feather, 
properly  bound  at  the  lower  end  of  the  shaft,  gave 
the  arrow  a  rotary  motion  as  it  passed  through  the 
air,  and  insured  a  greater  accuracy.  It  is  a  principle 
that  has  been  adopted  by  manufacturers  of  modern 
rifle  guns  to  impart  to  the  projectile  a  spinning 
motion  in  its  flight. 

The  first  guns  introduced  among  the  Inupash 
were  the  old  flintlocks,  although  this  was  probably 
not  over  thirty-five  or  forty  years  ago;  they  must 
have  been  the  flintlocks  left  over  with  some  trading 
company,  after  the  introduction  of  the  percussion 
caps,  that  had  found  their  way  this  long  distance 
across  the  country. 

"  Koonooya  "  is  the  name  of  the  villager  who 
was  the  first  to  own  a  double-barreled  shotgun; 
previous  to  that  he  had  killed  fourteen  white,  and 
two  brown  bears  with  his  bow  and  arrow.  The 
older  people  laugh  as  they  relate  how  those  stand 
ing  near  the  man  firing  would  place  their  hands 
over  their  ears  to  deaden  the  sound,  while  the 
little  girls  cried,  declaring  the  big  noise  hurt  their  ears. 

The  first  knives  were  of  flint,  jade  and  slate;  the 
95 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

boring  tools  of  flint;  the  adze  o/  jade;  hammers 
were  made  mostly  from  jade  and  wedges  of  bone; 
while  flint  was  used  to  saw  the  jade,  and  the  brown 
variety  was  employed  for  tools.  The  women's 
knives  were  largely  of  slate,  but  sometimes  of  jade, 
and  their  needles  of  ivory  or  bone. 

Pots  were  crudely  manufactured  by  mixing  clay 
with  heavy-spar  that  had  been  roasted  and 
powdered  fine, — called  "ketik,"  blood  from  a  seal 
being  added  and  sometimes  the  pin-feathers  from  a 
bird.  Utensils  thus  made  were  less  liable  to  frac 
ture  than  those  formed  simply  from  clay.  Occa 
sionally  a  flat  stone  was  hollowed  out  to  about  the 
depth  of  a  frying-pan,  and  used  for  a  cooking 
utensil,  it  having  the  advantage  of  boiling  more 
quickly  than  the  clay  vessel  over  the  seal-oil  lamp. 
These  lamps  were  simply  flat  stones,  hollowed  out 
with  the  flint  instruments  so  as  to  hold  oil.  A  few 
copper  kettles  of  Russian  make  found  their  way 
into  Tigara  from  the  Diomedes  about  sixty  years 
back;  they  were  very  expensive  and  could  be 
afforded  by  but  few.  The  "  Ongootkoots "  fre 
quently  broke  up  these  kettles  and  pounded  the 
copper  into  knives,  these  being  the  first  metal  blades 
known  among  the  Inupash. 
96 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

Wood  shovels,  tipped  with  bone,  and  picks  made 
from  whale  jaws,  were  employed  in  cutting  sods 
and  excavating  the  ground  for  the  iglos,  and  also 
for  digging  pits  in  the  deep  snow,  back  in  the 
valleys,  into  which  the  deer  would  fall  and  could 
then  be  easily  captured. 

The  first  spear  heads  were  of  bone  or  ivory;  later 
on  they  were  nicked  on  the  sides  so  as  to  hold  more 
firmly.  Afterward,  the  heads  were  made  movable 
with  a  line  attached,  having  the  advantage  of  hold 
ing  crosswise  when  driven  well  in.  About  one 
hundred  miles  east  of  the  village  of  Tigara,  in  the 
land  of  the  Kivalinyas,  a  man  once  darted  a  beluga, 
but  becoming  entangled  in  the  line  he  was  dragged 
off  into  the  ocean.  The  beluga  was  afterward 
killed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  it  hav 
ing  towed  the  body  considerably  more  than  one 
thousand  miles. 

For  clothing,  deerskins  were  stretched  and  scraped 
with  flint  instruments,  then  dressed  with  powdered 
heavy-spar,  making  the  skin  soft  and  pliable. 
Fresh  skins  from  the  common  seal  were  rolled  up 
and  kept  in  a  warm  place  until  the  hair  loosened, 
then  stretched  and  dried,  and  afterward  scraped  and 
worked  until  soft.  These  were  employed  to  make 
97 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

the  upper  portions  of  the  summer  waterproof  boots 
and  shoes.  The  skin  of  the  giant  seal,  treated  in 
the  same  way,  was  used  for  boot  soles,  the  soles 
being  crimped  into  shape  by  biting  with  the  teeth. 
All  sewing  was  done  with  deer  or  whale  sinew,  the 
former  being  considered  the  best.  The  same  meth 
ods  are  yet  employed  for  dressing  skins  and  making 
clothing  as  of  old. 

Lines  for  the  seal  spear,  hauling  lines  for  the  boat 
or  sled,  and  all  lashings,  are  made  from  the  skin  of 
the  giant  seal,  treated  as  above,  then  cut  into  long 
strings. 

All  the  stone  implements  that  were  formerly  in 
use  have  been  rendered  obsolete  by  the  introduction 
of  iron,  and  it  is  now  difficult  to  procure  any  of 
these  old  reminders  of  the  past. 


98 


XV 
Music 


XV 

MUSIC 

THE  Polarites  have  but  two  musical  instruments, 
the  "  ahtooktoora,"  or  one-string  fiddle,  and  the 
"calown,"  or  one-headed  drum.  The  latter  is  by 
far  the  more  important,  being  used  on  all  festive 
occasions  both  to  beat  time  for  the  dancers  and  also 
to  accompany  the  singers. 

Many  of  the  songs  of  these  people  relate  frag 
ments  of  tradition,  while  others  deal  with  a  crude 
mythology.  There  is  yet  another  class,  looked  upon 
as  prayers;  some  of  these  are  very  old,  and  are 
highly  treasured  by  the  possessors,  being  guarded 
as  great  secrets.  When  a  father  is  about  to  pass 
away,  he  will  call  his  son  and  impart  to  him  the 
song  as  a  legacy.  No  one  else  is  allowed  to  be 
present  on  such  an  occason,  it  being  regarded  in  the 
same  solemn  light  as  a  dying  parent's  blessing. 
The  son  in  his  turn,  when  he  has  grown  old,  and  is 
about  ready  to  take  leave  of  the  world,  will  impart 
the  song  to  the  next  one  in  line  of  inheritance. 
These  heirlooms  have  descended  through  families 
101 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

from  one  generation  to  another  for  an  immense 
length  of  time.  They  are  supposed  to  have  a 
mystic  charm  and  are  never  sung  loud,  but  are 
hummed  in  a  low  voice.  No  outsider  is  allowed  to 
learn  the  words  or  hear  the  tunes.  If  a  seal  on  the 
ice  is  very  watchful,  the  hunter  that  has  received 
such  a  legacy  will  lie  still  and  sing  the  magic 
words,  at  which  the  animal  is  supposed  to  go  to 
sleep  and  so  be  readily  approached.  The  same  is 
said  about  the  whale;  if  it  has  been  struck,  and 
there  is  danger  of  its  being  lost,  the  initiated  will 
sing  the  magic  words,  after  which  the  whale  can  be 
captured. 

One  song  of  the  first  named  class  relates  the  ex 
periences  of  a  young  woman.  Her  parents,  who 
are  growing  old,  are  desirous  that  she  should 
choose  a  husband  from  among  the  young  men  of 
the  village.  She,  refusing  to  do  so,  selects  a  skull 
as  her  lover.  Her  mother  is  indignant,  and  one  day 
during  the  daughter's  absence  accuses  her  son-in- 
law  of  keeping  her  awake  the  previous  night  by  too 
much  whispering.  Taking  a  stick  she  thrusts  it 
into  the  eye  socket,  then  tosses  the  skull  out-of- 
doors.  The  wind  rolls  it  down  the  beach  and  far 
out  into  the  ocean.  The  daughter,  on  returning 
1 02 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

and  finding  her  lover  absent,  eagerly  inquires  where 
he  is.  On  going  outside  the  trail  of  the  skull  is 
discovered  and  followed  to  the  water.  A  mouse 
coming  along  the  trail  is  killed  and,  on  its  being 
thrown  into  the  ocean,  a  path  is  made  visible  which 
leads  down  into  the  shades.  There  the  lover  is 
found;  he  has  grown  a  new  body  and  is  living  with 
two  old  women.  The  young  woman  is  overjoyed 
at  finding  her  Orpheus,  but  he,  pointing  to  the 
wound  in  the  eye,  tells  her  that  her  mother  was  the 
cause  of  it  and  refuses  to  return  with  her.  She 
mournfully  retraces  her  steps  to  earth  and  decides 
to  choose  the  other  road  thence  leading  to  Paradise. 
Taking  the  winding  path  that  ascends  toward  the 
sky,  she  finds  that  the  scene  grows  more  enchant 
ing  as  she  proceeds.  At  last  she  arrives  at  the 
moon,  where  everything  is  found  to  be  most  beau 
tiful.  After  viewing  the  amazing  scene,  she  ex 
presses  a  desire  to  cast  her  eyes  upon  the  earth 
again,  but  the  keeper  refuses  to  open  the  door. 
Finally,  however,  her  earnest  pleadings  have  the  de 
sired  effect,  and  he  concedes  to  her  request  by  open 
ing  the  door  a  little.  While  she  is  looking  down,  a 
great  shout  is  heard,  as  the  villagers  cry  out, 
"There's  the  new  moon!"  One  man,  taking  a 
J03 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

cup,  tosses  water  so  high  that  it  enters  the  door  of 
the  moon;  at  the  same  time  he  shouts,  "Send  me  a 
whale."  A  second  man  does  the  same,  but  tosses 
the  water  only  a  short  distance,  for  he  has  met  with 
disappointment  in  his  whaling.  All  these  scenes, 
with  the  distinctness  of  the  voices,  have  the  effect 
of  making  her  homesick  to  return  to  the  village. 
She  pleads  with  the  doorkeeper  to  allow  her  to  re 
trace  her  steps,  but  he  declares  that  the  path  has 
vanished,  and  that  no  one  entering  the  moon  can 
return  by  the  same  road.  She,  becoming  disconso 
late,  is  at  last  informed  that  if  she  will  braid  a  rope 
long  enough  to  reach  the  earth  a  descent  can  be 
made  by  that  means;  so  she  sets  to  work  and  after 
diligent  labor  the  task  is  ultimately  completed.  As 
she  starts  to  lower  herself,  the  doorkeeper  tells  her 
to  keep  her  eyes  closed  until  her  feet  touch  the 
ground,  and  following  his  instructions  she  at  last 
reaches  the  earth  once  more. 


104 


XVI 

Wooden  Faces 


XVI 

WOODEN  FACES 

MANY  families  treasure  old  family  portraits — 
paintings  of  ancestors  who  have  rendered  them 
selves  famous  in  one  way  or  another.  Such  paint 
ings  have  their  unwritten  stones,  repeated  by  word 
of  mouth  from  one  generation  to  another,  thereby 
preserving  the  family  history  which  is  looked  back 
upon  with  pride  by  the  descendants. 

Among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Arctic  regions  the 
same  sentiment  long  ago  prevailed.  They  had  no 
pencils  or  paints,  neither  did  they  know  anything 
of  the  painter's  art,  so  with  their  stone  knives  or 
other  rude  tools  they  carved  faces  from  driftwood, 
which  were  hung  up  in  their  homes  as  mementos 
of  former  great  men  and  ancestors.  With  these 
faces  were  always  associated  the  unwritten  stories  of 
the  men  they  represented,  descending  by  word  of 
mouth  from  one  generation  to  another,  thereby  pre 
serving  the  family  history.  Sometimes  the  accounts 
of  the  deeds  these  men  performed  were  carved  on 
ivory,  thus  aiding  in  the  preservation  of  their  stories. 
107 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

It  is  doubtful  if  these  masks  were  very  good  like 
nesses  of  the  individuals,  but  they  have  served  their 
purpose  remarkably  well.  It  is  also  doubtful  if  our 
more  civilized  artists  could  have  done  much  better 
than  these  untrained  sculptors  with  the  same  rude 
tools  and  materials  with  which  they  had  to  work. 
Sometimes  the  untutored  artist  would  create  an  un 
satisfactory  face,  one  rather  hideous  in  its  appear 
ance;  then  he  would  declare  that  he  had  made  the 
face  of  Toongna.  At  other  times  faces  would  be 
created  without  any  intention  of  their  representing 
any  particular  individual.  Such  faces  were  hung  up 
in  homes  for  the  same  reason  that  we  adorn  our 
walls  with  oil  paintings  or  photographs,  simply  to 
look  at  them.  Other  large  faces  were  made  and 
used  in  the  festivities  of  a  feast,  but  I  have  never 
learned  that  such  faces  were  looked  upon  with  any 
degree  of  superstition,  as  many  have  supposed. 


108 


XVII 
The  Evolution  of  the  Cook 


XVII 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  COOK 

THE  Arctic  cook's  necessary  tools  are  first  a  fire, 
then  a  pot  and  a  spoon  or  stick,  and  a  piece  of  seal 
meat.  Judging  from  tradition,  these  must  have 
been  known  to  the  first  old  woman.  The  forerun 
ner  of  the  spoon  was  the  "  allutok,"  a  name  derived 
from  two  words,  "allukto,"  to  lick,  and  "tock," 
occurring  only  in  the  construction  of  compound 
words  and  having  a  reference  to  bringing.  The 
first  "allutok "was  simply  a  small  stick  like  the 
Chinese  chop-stick.  It  continued  in  use  for  a  great 
many  centuries,  or  to  within  the  past  ten  or  twelve 
years.  Since  then  it  has  been  entirely  replaced  by 
the  modern  spoon,  which  has  retained  the  same 
name. 

Calling  boiled  seal  meat  the  first,  we  will  look 
upon  "pooya"  as  the  second  triumph  of  the  culi 
nary  art.  I  give  the  recipe  for  number  two.  At  the 
same  time,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  the  modern 
ladies  of  the  kitchen  will  care  to  experiment  with 
its  manufacture.  The  only  things  of  interest  about 
in 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

"pooya"  are  its  age,  the  ingredients  and  style  of 
its  construction,  and  its  one  great  product  (accord 
ing  to  the  Inupash) — the  first  man. 

During  those  very  early  days,  the  woman  ap 
pears  not  to  have  washed  her  dishes,  although  she 
may  have  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  the  water. 
The  recipe  says:  Scrape  the  old  dried  dinner  from 
the  "allutok"  used  at  a  previous  feast  of  seal  meat. 
To  the  scrapings  add  a  small  pinch  of  the  tender  pin 
feathers  of  a  bird.  The  two  ingredients  are  to  be 
mixed,  then  masticated  until  metamorphosed  into 
chewing-gum. 

There  were  no  clocks  or  watches  in  those  early 
days,  so  the  Polar  man's  first  mother  had  lots  of 
time.  After  a  few  centuries  had  passed,  some 
genius  invented  a  new  form  of  chewing-gum  called 
"anoon."  It  appears  to  have  been  the  third  tri 
umph  in  the  culinary  line.  Seal  oil  is  boiled;  the 
upper  portion  being  poured  off,  the  thick  sediment 
remaining  is  again  boiled  until  it  becomes  black  and 
nearly  burnt,  when  it  is  ready  for  chewing.  The 
use  of  this  is  said  to  shorten  time  considerably,  but 
the  mass  does  not  look  inviting. 

"Keveh,"  made  by  warming  deer  tallow,  then 
beating  it  into  a  light  mass  with  salmon  berries,  was 
112 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

the  fourth  innovation,  and  "ahkootoo,"  the  fifth. 
"  Ahkootoo  "  is  made  from  deer  marrow,  mixed  with 
whale  oil,  a  small  amount  of  soup  from  boiled  deer 
meat  and  also  some  of  the  meat  cut  fine.  The  mass 
is  to  be  beaten  until  it  becomes  quite  light.  It  is  an 
article  of  food  very  highly  esteemed  by  the 
Inupash. 

These  remained  the  only  dishes  known  to  the 
cook  for  a  vast  length  of  time,  but  I  take  it  that 
much  meat  and  fish  were  devoured  raw.  On  the 
first  introduction  of  flour,  the  people  did  not  care 
for  it,  but  about  1890  they  learned  the  art  of  making 
"  nookpowras,"  flour  mixed  with  a  small  amount  of 
water,  then  dropped  into  boiling  seal  or  whale  oil. 
"  Nookpowras  "  proved  quite  popular,  and  flour  be 
came  a  demand. 

A  few  years  back  instructions  were  begun  among 
the  young  people  at  Tigara  in  the  simple  art  of 
cooking.  At  first  the  girls  viewed  it  in  the  line  of  a 
novelty,  but  when  they  noticed  the  eligible  young 
men  picking  out  the  cooks  for  their  wives,  it  was 
astonishing  to  see  what  zeal  all  the  marriageable 
girls  suddenly  developed.  As  soon  as  they  had 
learned  to  turn  a  slapjack,  or  to  make  a  cup  of  cof 
fee,  they  would,  on  returning  to  their  homes  in  the 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

evening,  pass  around  among  the  young  men, 
bragging  of  what  good  cooks  they  were;  or  if  a 
whale  ship  was  sighted,  off  would  scamper  the 
cooks,  anxious  to  be  the  first  on  board,  invariably 
hunting  up  the  cooks'  galley,  where  they  introduced 
themselves  as  cooks,  seeming  to  feel  that  there  should 
be  a  professional  bond  of  sympathy  between  them. 

It  was  not  alone  in  cooking  that  instructions  were 
given,  but  also  in  the  art  of  sewing;  simple  cutting 
was  taught  and  the  making  of  such  things  as  towels, 
snow  shirts  and  trousers. 

At  one  time  the  young  tribal  princess  and  her 
companion  were  under  instruction.  They  tried  to 
excel  all  previous  apprentices  in  various  ways.  No 
sooner  would  the  breakfast  dishes  be  through  with 
than  the  girls  would  disappear  out-of-doors.  On 
searching  for  them,  they  would  be  found  in  some 
secluded  corner  playing  housekeeping;  or,  if  a 
doctor's  patient  came  along,  after  his  departure 
they  would  prescribe  small  powders  of  flour  for 
each  other.  When  the  time  came  for  them  to  re 
ceive  instruction  in  sewing,  they  were  set  to  mak 
ing  woolen  trousers.  A  great  amount  of  whisper 
ing  and  tittering  went  on;  then  when  the  work  was 
brought  for  inspection  it  was  found  that,  as  before 
114 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

these  girls  had  tried  to  excel  all  previous  attempts. 
They  had  procured  some  bright  pieces  of  calico  with 
which  they  had  trimmed  the  garments  in  a  style  the 
princess  thought  quite  pretty.  Fancy  trousers  im 
mediately  became  the  rage  among  the  villagers. 
One  young  man  of  dudish  propensities  came  out 
with  a  pair  that  had  been  worked  in  rings  of  various 
colors  down  each  leg,  while  his  competitor  intro 
duced  knee  breeches  made  from  fancy  bed  ticking, 
heavily  frilled  at  the  knees  and  fancily  embroidered 
in  bright  colors.  The  village  belles,  not  to  be  out 
done  by  the  young  men,  discarded  the  old  bone 
fish-hooks  they  had  been  wearing  for  ear  jewelry 
and  adopted  the  more  natty  safety-pin,  at  the  same 
time  making  for  themselves  pretty  waist  belts  with 
can-openers  for  danglers,  and  also  giving  their 
cloaks  a  liberal  supply  of  the  same. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  among  the 
people.  They  were  awaking  from  the  long  sleep 
they  had  been  taking,  ever  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Polar  race.  Old  ways  that  had  been  followed 
from  the  most  remote  time  were  to  give  way  to  the 
new  conditions  that  were  advancing,  and  would 
ultimately  end  in  the  improvement  and  benefit  of 
the  people. 

"5 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

The  art  of  cooking  has  now  greatly  advanced. 
Nearly  all  the  young  people  understand  how  to  cook. 
It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  an  iglo  in  the  village  that 
has  not  one  or  two  cooks.  Eating  raw  meat  is 
pretty  much  of  the  past,  its  place  being  filled  by 
bread,  slapjacks,  soup,  and  tea  or  coffee.  Nearly 
all  the  young  people  can  make  their  own  yeast,  and 
as  good  a  loaf  of  bread  as  is  to  be  found  anywhere, 
far  surpassing  their  instructor.  Soap  and  water,  and 
with  them  cleanliness,  have  also  been  introduced. 
If  in  traveling  along  the  coast  one  meets  with  clean 
young  natives,  who  ask  for  a  piece  of  soap,  he  may 
know  that  they  are  from  Tigara,  or  have  spent  a 
season  or  two  in  the  village;  at  least  so  say  the  per 
sons  who  have  had  this  experience. 


116 


XVIII 

Chokarluke 


XVIII 

CHOKARLUKE 

LUKE  occurs  frequently  as  an  affix  to  many  nouns, 
more  especially  in  the  names  of  individuals,  but  no 
one  seems  able  to  throw  any  light  on  the  meaning 
of  it.  If  it  ever  had  any,  it  has  been  lost.  In  the 
interpretation  of  the  names  of  individuals,  Katuktor- 
luke  becomes  Lost  Luke;  Covewluke,  Slop-bucket 
Luke;  Chummerroyluke,  Beads-on-the-hair  Luke; 
Tatkealuke,  Moon  Luke;  and  Chokarluke,  Whale 
bone  Luke. 

Chokarluke  was  the  traditionary  strong  man  of 
the  Polar  race.  He  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cape  Lisburne,  near  which  place  the  traveler  may 
see  two  large  stones  that  he  has  been  credited  with 
carrying  in  his  arms  and  placing  in  their  present 
position.  They  were  used  for  the  purpose  of 
stretching  his  seal  lines  to  dry.  He  is  also  credited 
with  having  been  a  wonderful  pedestrian,  having 
had  great  power  of  endurance.  At  one  time  the 
neighbors  had  killed  a  whale  but  were  in  danger  of 
losing  their  prize,  the  strong  ocean  current  threaten- 
119 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

ing  to  carry  it  away.  Chokarluke,  happening  along, 
seized  the  whale  by  the  tail  and  lifted  it  half  out  of 
the  water  and  upon  the  ice,  a  deed  of  strength  far 
surpassing  any  of  our  modern  strong  men's  feats 
and  well  earning  for  him  the  name  of  Whalebone 
Luke. 


1 20 


XIX 

Introduction  of  Tobacco 


XIX 

INTRODUCTION  OF  TOBACCO 

THERE  is  always  a  pleasure  in  recording  the  deeds 
of  great  men,  and  although  they  may  have  been 
taking  their  long  sleep  for  many  a  year,  yet  those 
innovations  they  introduced  still  live  on.  So  I  take 
pleasure  in  introducing  "Nanoona"  for  the  first 
time,  and  leave  it  to  the  historian  to  record  his  name 
along  with  that  of  "Bobo,"  the  introducer  of  roast 
pork,  or  to  place  this  story  with  that  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh's  involuntary  bath. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Arctic  Circle  are  as  fond  of 
their  smoke  as  any  other  race  of  men,  but  the  high 
price  of  the  first  tobacco  necessitated  the  invention 
of  the  small  pipe,  and  also  the  method  of  smoking 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  Inupash.  The  tobacco  is 
first  cut  fine,  then  the  bowl  of  the  pipe,  which  holds 
about  as  much  as  a  thirty-two  cartridge  shell,  has  a  pel 
let  of  fine  wood  shavings  crowded  into  its  base.  A 
small  amount  of  tobacco  is  then  introduced,  about 
enough  to  give  one  or  two  puffs,  and  a  piece  of 
tinder  being  placed  at  the  edge,  fire  is  struck  with  a 
123 


Sketches   From    Oldest   America 

flint  and  steel.  The  smoker  is  now  ready  to  enjoy 
himself;  he  takes  a  long  pull  and  then  tries  to  swal 
low  the  smoke,  but  lower  down  there  is  an  objec 
tion  ;  the  stomach  refuses  to  be  considered  a  smoke 
bag,  and,  puckering  up,  does  all  in  its  power  to  re 
pel  the  intrusion,  while  above  the  act  of  swallowing 
is  persisted  in.  At  last  the  stomach  gains  the  victory 
and  the  smoke  is  expelled,  the  smoker  coughs, 
wipes  his  eyes  and  puts  the  pipe  away.  He  has  had 
a  good  smoke. 

It  was  during  the  earlier  days  of  the  past  century 
that  a  small  amount  of  the  strong  Russian  tobacco 
found  its  way  through  Siberia  and  across  the  Beh- 
ring  Straits.  "Nanoona"  was  a  great  traveler  for 
those  days,  and  had  ventured  as  far  south  as  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Seward  Peninsula.  Obtaining 
some  of  the  tobacco,  he  returned  to  his  home,  and 
the  news  soon  spread  that  "Nanoona"  could  actually 
swallow  fire  and  then  belch  forth  smoke.  The 
thing  seemed  incredible;  it  even  surpassed  the 
doings  of  the  wonderful  "Ongootkoot"  who  was 
very  successful  in  driving  off  eclipses,  thereby  sav 
ing  the  villagers  from  some  terrible  catastrophes. 
At  the  appointed  time  the  people  gathered,  filling 
"Nanoona's"  iglo;  even  the  roof  was  packed. 
124 


Sketches  Prom    Oldest  America 

The  seal-gut  window  having  been  removed,  the 
people  gathered  there  several  rows  deep,  all  desir 
ous  of  witnessing  the  wonderful  act. 

Our  hero  no  doubt  felt  the  importance  of  the 
occasion  and  filled  his  pipe  more  times  than  his  dis 
cretion  should  have  allowed;  first  came  the  stage  of 
exhilaration,  the  world  looked  beautiful,  and  he 
spoke  entertainingly  of  the  traditions  of  the  past,  a 
subject  that  is  always  interesting  to  an  Inupash, 
even  if  he  has  already  heard  them  many  times; 
then  came  the  well-known  after  effects,  which 
nearly  all  beginners  with  the  weed  experience. 

His  transient  indisposition  served  as  no  warning 
to  the  people;  neither  did  the  odor  of  the  smoke 
that  they  had  been  forced  to  shield  their  noses  from. 
Had  they  not  seen  him  swallow  fire  and  belch  forth 
smoke  ?  Had  they  not  seen  him  during  the  stage  of 
exhilaration  ?  They  all  wished  to  pass  through  a 
similar  experience,  but  tobacco  was  scarce  and  held 
at  a  fabulous  price.  One  pull  at  the  pipe  was  worth 
two  dressed  sealskins;  or  a  pipeful  of  the  weed, 
affording  two  good  swallows,  cost  two  deer 
skins.  Only  the  wealthy  could  afford  such  a 
luxury. 

"  Nanoona  "  has  long  since  gone  to  his  rest,  but  his 
125 


Sketches  From   Oldest   America 

name  remains  green  among  the  villagers.  To-day 
the  traveler  can  see  his  elevated  grave  at  Tigmea- 
rook,  about  six  miles  east  of  the  village  of 
Tigara,  at  which  place  his  career  came  to  a  sud 
den  end  through  the  agency  of  an  arrow  driven  by 
the  bow  of  an  enemy. 


126 


XX 

Winter  Evenings  and  Stories 


XX 

WINTER  EVENINGS  AND  STORIES 

THE  inhabitants  of  the  busy  world  have  no  end  of 
amusements,  besides  their  newspapers  and  maga 
zines  with  which  to  pass  their  leisure  hours.  It  is 
not  so  with  the  less  fortunate  inhabitants  of  the  far 
north.  Their  winter  evenings  are  long  and  their 
homes  but  dimly  lighted  by  the  seal-oil  lamps.  To 
the  uninitiated,  it  would  seem  a  dreary  sight,  yet 
the  people  have  their  enjoyment  in  the  shape  of  an 
occasional  dance,  a  most  innocent  form  of  amuse 
ment,  being  as  much  singing  as  dancing,  accom 
panied  by  the  beating  of  the  one-headed  drum. 

The  dancer  stands  up  and  makes  a  few  graceful 
movements  with  the  arms,  as  well  as  limbering  at 
the  knee  joints,  then  sits  down.  Others  go  through 
the  same  motions  in  their  turn,  while  the  audience 
does  the  singing.  Their  main  festivities  occur  at 
the  full  of  the  moon,  in  the  month  of  "Nekanok- 
kochevik,"  corresponding  to  our  December,  at  which 
time,  besides  the  dancing  and  feasting,  presents  are 
given  by  the  leading  men. 
129 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

Their  other  form  of  amusement  is  story-telling. 
The  stories  may  be  old,  but  that  makes  no  difference 
to  an  Inupash,  he  is  one  of  the  most  attentive 
listeners,  no  matter  how  many  times  he  may  have 
heard  the  same  tale  before.  The  repetition  has  the 
advantage  of  fixing  the  story  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  enabling  them  to  retain  and  pass  down  their 
traditions  from  one  generation  to  another  for  an 
immensely  long  period  of  time.  Outside  of  their 
traditions,  their  stories  deal  largely  with  the  super 
natural  in  the  form  of  ghosts  and  fairies.  Oc 
casionally,  one  may  hear  a  fable  that  apparently  has 
a  moral  attached.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the 
stones  that  mothers  interest  their  children  with, 
and  that  are  eagerly  listened  to  by  the  older  ones 

also:— 

ALLUGUA 

Little  Allugua  had  been  born  blind.  It  had 
worried  his  father  and  mother  greatly,  for  they 
knew  when  he  grew  to  manhood  he  would  not  be 
able  to  hunt  and  support  himself.  They  hoped  as 
he  grew  older  he  might  yet  receive  his  eyesight, 
although  both  eyes  were  white  and  sightless.  At 
last  when  he  became  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  his 
parents  gave  up  all  hope. 

130 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

The  summer  season  was  approaching,  a  time 
when  all  the  villagers  would  be  going  on  their 
annual  trips,  some  to  the  north  in  quest  of  deer, 
while  others  would  go  to  the  east,  down  the 
Kotzebue  Sound,  where  they  would  meet  natives  of 
other  tribes,  and  do  their  trading.  All  would  leave 
the  village;  the  place  would  be  entirely  abandoned. 
Little  Allugua's  father  and  mother,  in  talking  the 
matter  over  with  some  of  the  neighbors,  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  child  was  hopelessly  blind 
and  would  never  be  able  to  support  himself.  It  was 
therefore  decided  to  leave  him  behind.  The  parents 
placed  him  in  their  iglo,  laying  heavy  whale  jaws 
over  the  window  and  blocking  up  the  entrance, 
thus  leaving  no  way  of  escape.  They  then  left 
him  without  food,  expecting  him  to  starve  to  death 
during  their  absence. 

The  little  fellow  sat  on  the  floor,  with  his  head 
bowed  on  his  breast,  feeling  very  bad  at  the  fate 
which  awaited  him.  He  was  growing  very  hungry 
and  had  apparently  no  means  of  relief.  Everything 
was  dark  to  him.  His  hunger  grew  still  worse, 
with  a  terrible  gnawing  sensation  in  his  stomach. 
If  he  could  only  get  something  to  eat!  and  his  thirst 
was  terrible!  He  was  beside  himself  with  despair; 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

if  death  would  only  come,  what  a  relief  it  would 
be.  It  seemed  a  terribly  long  time  that  he  sat  there 
in  the  darkness  with  his  head  bowed  on  his  breast. 

At  last  he  heard  a  noise;  what  could  it  mean  ? 
He  knew  that  none  of  the  villagers  would  return  for 
a  long  time.  It  must  be  one  of  those  hallucinations 
that  hunger  and  thirst  often  create.  Then  the 
noise  came  nearer,  and  a  little  woman  coming  up 
through  the  floor  asked  him  why  he  was  there  and 
what  made  him  so  sad.  He  soon  told  the  story  of 
how  he  had  been  left  to  starve  to  death  and  how  he 
was  suffering  for  food  and  water.  If  he  could  only 
get  a  drink  from  the  spring  near  by,  how  it  would 
relieve  the  terrible  parched  condition  of  his  mouth 
and  throat!  Water,  oh,  if  he  only  had  some  water! 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  little  woman,  "  you  shall 
not  starve  to  death,"  and  she  placed  by  his  side 
some  nice  pieces  of  whale  meat  and  black  skin, 
with  a  pailful  of  clear  cold  water.  How  Allugua 
did  enjoy  the  water,  and  then  the  whale  meat  and 
black  skin!  He  had  never  in  all  his  life  tasted  any 
thing  half  so  good.  Every  day  the  little  woman 
brought  a  fresh  supply  of  meat  and  water;  she 
knew  just  what  to  choose  so  that  he  would  gain 
strength  and  grow. 

132 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

At  last  the  fall  season  came,  bringing  with  it  the 
colder  weather.  The  villagers  were  returning  from 
their  summer  trips,  and  Allugua's  father  and  mother 
were  among  the  arrivals.  Soon  he  heard  some  one 
moving  the  barricade  from  the  entrance,  then  his 
mother  looked  up  through  the  hole  in  the  floor. 
She  was  greatly  surprised  to  see  him  alive  and 
well;  here  was  a  fat,  healthy  boy  instead  of  the 
emaciated  body  of  her  son,  who,  she  supposed,  had 
starved  to  death  during  her  absence. 

"Why  you  are  alive  and  hearty,  what  makes  you 
so  fleshy?"  she  remarked,  "and  how  you  have 
grown!"  Allugua  did  not  tell  his  mother  that  a 
good  little  fairy  had  been  feeding  him.  He  simply 
said  that  the  food  and  water  she  had  left  had  proved 
very  nourishing.  After  that  his  parents  decided  that 
as  he  would  not  die  they  would  take  care  of  him. 

In  time  he  grew  up  and  was  approaching  man 
hood,  when  he  expressed  a  desire  to  join  one  of  the 
whaling  crews.  His  parents  said  no;  he  was  blind 
and  would  simply  be  in  the  way  of  the  whalers. 
But  he  persisted,  declaring  that  he  would  kill  a 
whale.  At  last  they  consented,  and  he  went  with 
one  of  the  crews.  He  had  not  been  long  out  when 
he  insisted  that  he  should  be  placed  at  the  head  of 
133 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

the  boat  with  the  whaling  spear.  The  men  at  first 
refused,  but  ultimately  acceded  to  his  request  by 
placing  him  at  the  head  with  the  spear.  Just  then 
a  whale  coming  along  quite  close,  they  told  him  to 
dart,  but  he  said  no;  that  was  not  the  right  one,  as 
it  passed  off.  Then  the  ice  began  crowding  in  and 
the  canoe  was  quickly  hauled  out.  The  men 
stepped  back  to  a  safe  place,  but  Allugua  stayed  at 
the  edge. 

After  a  while  he  began  beckoning  to  the  men  to 
come  forward.  But  no,  they  would  not,  for  they 
thought  it  was  simply  the  crowding  ice  he  heard. 
Later  on,  the  ice  moved  off  and  another  whale  came 
quite  close.  The  men  again  placed  the  spear  in  his 
hand  and  told  him  to  dart,  but  he  said  no;  that  was 
not  the  right  one.  The  ice  again  crowding  in  as 
before,  he  took  his  stand  at  the  edge.  After  listen 
ing  a  while  he  beckoned  for  the  men  to  come  for 
ward.  At  last  they  did  so,  remarking  among  them 
selves,  that  it  was  only  the  crowding  of  the  ice  he 
heard.  He  stood  for  a  moment  listening,  then 
darted  the  spear,  but  instead  of  striking  the  ice,  it 
went  under,  and  the  line  with  the  floats  was  drawn 
out  with  great  rapidity.  He  had  darted  a  large 
whale  which  was  soon  dispatched. 
134 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

Before  the  season  closed  he  had  killed  three 
more,  and  the  following  year  he  did  the  same  thing 
again;  so  that  instead  of  being  a  poor  blind  man,  a 
care  to  his  parents,  Allugua  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
most  successful  whalers  in  the  village. 

CATERPILLAR 

It  is  not  long  since  ghosts  and  fairies  were  fully 
believed  in  in  the  far  north,  as  they  were  in  the 
olden  days  in  our  more  civilized  countries.  The 
men  and  women  who  claimed  they  had  seen  such 
apparitions  were  so  common  that  no  one  doubted 
their  statements  or  gave  the  subject  an  investigation, 
but  would  listen  patiently,  no  matter  how  extrava 
gant  the  story  might  be.  Even  to-day,  superstition 
seems  to  exist  among  the  older  people,  although 
there  is  scarcely  any  one  who  would  care  to  assert 
that  he  had  seen  such  a  thing  at  a  very  recent  date. 
In  1892  a  young  woman  came  to  me  with  the  infor 
mation  that  the  previous  evening  an  "Ongootkoot" 
had  seen  a  black  man  and  boy  walk  slowly  across 
the  land,  then  out  upon  the  ocean,  where  they 
disappeared. 

Quite  a  while  back,  a  man  and  his  wife  had  gone 
into  the  interior  country  in  search  of  deer.  The 
135 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

man  was  meeting  with  unusually  good  success  in 
his  hunting,  while  the  woman  busied  herself  with 
cutting  and  packing  willow  brush  for  the  camp. 
One  day  while  at  her  task,  happening  to  look  up, 
she  saw  a  woman  near  at  hand  with  a  very  fine 
deerskin  coat  on.  It  was  all  fancily  trimmed  with 
wolverine  and  other  furs,  making  one  of  those 
beautiful  coats  any  woman  would  love  to  possess. 
At  the  same  time,  looking  down  at  her  own  shabby 
artege,  she  sighed  and  remarked  to  the  stranger, 
"What  a  beautiful  coat  you  have."  The  woman 
smilingly  replied,  "Yes,  how  would  you  like  to 
have  it?"  Of  course  she  was  delighted  with  the 
proposition,  and  when  the  stranger  offered  to  make 
the  exchange,  was  only  too  glad  to  accept  the  offer. 
The  exchange  was  soon  made,  but  on  putting  on 
the  new  coat  she  was  instantly  transformed  into  a 
caterpillar.  The  stranger  put  on  the  old  coat,  then 
picking  up  the  bundle  of  willow  brush  went  to  the 
camp,  where  she  took  the  place  of  the  real  wife. 

The  hunter,  on  returning,  remarked  to  his  sup 
posed  wife,  "Why,  dear,  you  don't  look  the  same 
as  usual,  and  you  have  a  different  odor."  To  which 
she  replied,  "Why,  husband,  you  know  I  have 
been  working  hard  all  day,  cutting  and  packing 
136 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

brush  and  have  become  overheated."  The  man, 
not  being  very  inquisitive,  accepted  the  explana 
tion  and  was  satisfied,  especially  so  as  there  was  a 
nice  hot  dinner  awaiting  him. 

So  matters  continued  for  some  time. 

The  real  wife  felt  terribly  over  her  misfortune, 
wishing  sincerely  she  had  never  coveted  the  other 
woman's  coat.  She  slowly  crawled  back  toward 
the  camp,  but,  make  the  greatest  exertion  she 
could,  it  was  very  slow  work.  Then,  when  she 
thought  she  had  nearly  arrived  at  the  place  where 
her  husband  was,  he  and  the  fraudulent  wife  would 
break  camp  and  move  to  a  new  site.  It  was  such 
slow  work  crawling;  besides,  the  poor  wife  had 
several  narrow  escapes  from  hungry  birds,  only 
escaping  by  hiding  in  the  crevice  of  a  rock  or 
under  a  blade  of  grass.  The  season  was  advancing 
and  her  husband  would  soon  return  to  the  village; 
she  must  hurry  or  be  left  behind.  So  crawling 
night  and  day,  she  at  last  reached  the  camp  and 
managed  to  crawl  in  among  the  deerskins,  as  they 
were  being  lashed  preparatory  to  taking  them 
home. 

On  arriving  in  the  village  she  could  only  crawl 
around  and  see  her  friends,  but  no  one  took  any 
137 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

notice  of  her.  She  crawled  around  the  iglo  and 
watched  the  fraudulent  wife  making  love  to  her 
husband.  It  filled  her  with  jealousy  and  indigna 
tion,  but  she  could  do  nothing  to  help  matters. 
The  season  was  arriving  when  she  would  turn  into 
a  cocoon  for  her  long  winter's  sleep.  If  something 
did  not  happen  quickly,  her  hopes  would  be  blasted 
forever.  Crawling  up  over  the  place  where  her 
mother  was  cooking,  the  caterpillar  accidentally 
fell  down  at  the  edge  of  the  fire,  burst  open  and 
the  woman  escaped  from  her  prison.  Her  mother 
was  greatly  surprised.  Explanations  were  made, 
and  the  fraudulent  wife  was  soon  turned  into  a 
caterpillar.  Crawling  off  she  has  never  since  been 
heard  from,  and  may  be  crawling  yet,  as  far  as  any 
of  the  villagers  know. 

TUNGNALUKE'S  PERPLEXITY 

Tungnaluke  was  one  of  those  slow-of-compre- 
hension,  good-natured,  shiftless  fellows,  that  the 
men  of  the  world  would  consider  as  not  being  very 
bright.  He  would  rather  hang  around  his  neighbors 
doing  a  bit  of  gossiping,  than  to  exert  himself  by 
hunting  for  his  family.  As  usual  with  such  charac 
ters,  he  had  chosen  for  a  wife  a  woman  his  extreme 
138 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

opposite,  and  she  was  not  to  be  blamed  if,  at  times, 
she  exercised  her  fiery  tongue  or  wielded  a  stick.  It 
was  the  only  way  to  excite  a  little  energy  in  the  man 
she  had  accepted  as  her  life  partner.  There  was  a 
certain  amount  of  affection  existing  between  the 
two;  she  looking  upon  him  as  a  man  she  could  con 
trol,  while  on  his  part,  he  viewed  her  with  a  con 
siderable  amount  of  respect. 

Knowing  the  man's  gossiping  disposition  so  well, 
she  had  ordered  him  to  go  up  the  river  alone  for 
three  or  four  weeks  and  lay  in  a  winter's  supply  of 
fish.  He  would  much  rather  have  taken  a  compan 
ion,  for  spending  three  or  four  weeks  alone  fishing 
through  the  ice,  with  no  one  to  converse  with,  did 
not  meet  with  his  approbation  ;  yet  he  knew  better 
than  to  raise  any  objections  with  Mrs.  Tungnaluke. 
So  he  obeyed  and  went  off.  Feeling  the  loneliness 
of  his  position,  he  worked  with  an  unusual  amount 
of  energy,  trying  to  hurry  the  task  through.  Still 
the  feeling  of,  "Oh,  if  I  only  had  some  one  to  talk 
to,"  would  occasionally  steal  over  him. 

One  day,  meeting  with  unusual  success,  he  stayed 

at  the  task  much  later  than  usual  and  the  twilight 

had  begun  to  fade.     At  last  casting  his  eyes  toward 

his  hut  he  was  surprised  to  see  the  place  brightly  il- 

139 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

luminated.  What  could  it  mean?  He  knew  that 
the  seal-oil  lamp  had  not  been  lighted  that  day 
and  there  was  no  other  person  within  many 
miles. 

The  number  four  seems  to  be  regarded  among  the 
villagers  with  some  degree  of  superstition,  though 
why  it  is  hard  to  say.  Perhaps  it  originated  from 
the  idea  that  man  ascends  on  the  fourth  day  after 
death,  and  the  four  raps  with  the  hammer  are  given 
on  that  day  at  the  recent  home  of  the  deceased. 

Tungnaluke,  on  seeing  the  illumination,  hastily 
picked  up  four  frozen  fish  and  on  entering  the  hut 
he  was  delighted  to  see  a  woman.  Here  was  some 
body  to  talk  to.  To  be  sure,  she  had  a  deerskin 
mask  over  her  face,  and  he  knew  that  was  the  way 
the  villagers  dressed  the  dead,  but  he  gave  the  sub 
ject  no  heed.  The  place  was  nice  and  warm,  and 
he  felt  that  his  solitude  was  at  an  end.  He  could 
now  have  a  nice  long  conversation;  so  seating  him 
self  on  the  floor  he  spoke  to  the  visitor.  But  she 
made  no  reply.  He  then  pushed  one  of  the  frozen 
fish  toward  her,  but  the  fish  came  flapping  back. 
Then  he  offered  the  other  fish  one  by  one,  telling  her 
to  eat;  but  they  came  flapping  back  as  did  the  first. 
Thinking  that  the  warmth  of  the  room  had  brought 
140 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

them  back  to  life,  he  gave  the  subject  no  further  at 
tention. 

His  curiosity  being  aroused,  and  wishing  to  see 
who  the  visitor  was,  he  pulled  the  death  mask  from 
her  face  and  threw  it  outside;  but  it  came  back  and 
covered  the  face  again.  Supposing  that  it  was  the 
wind  which  had  blown  it  back,  he  pulled  it  off  again 
and  threw  it  outside;  but  with  the  same  result  as 
before.  It  was  not  until  the  fifth  time  that  the  mask 
stayed  away.  Then  recognizing  one  of  the  young 
women  of  the  village,  he  spoke  but  received  no 
reply.  Passing  his  hand  over  her  face  he  felt  that 
she  was  cold  and  clammy,  and  supposing  it  was  a 
chill  she  had  he  placed  her  in  his  bed. 

After  awhile  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  his  visitor  was  growing  warmer.  Then  she 
spoke  and  told  him  she  had  died  and  been  buried, 
but  that  he  had  warmed  and  made  her  comfortable 
again.  After  talking  together  for  quite  awhile,  the 
visitor  proposed  that  they  should  return  to  the  village 
together,  Tungnaluke  taking  her  for  his  wife. 

At  last  the  truth  began  to  dawn  through  his  mind, 

and  he  found  himself  in  a  perplexity.     Here  he  had 

been  making  a  ghost  comfortable,  and  it  was  now 

insisting  on  being  his  wife.     He  already  had  one  in 

141 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

the  village,  whom  he  had  a  great  amount  of  respect 
for,  and  knew  she  would  be  highly  indignant  if  he 
brought  a  second  wife  home,  especially  so  if  the 
new  one  was  the  recently  deceased  neighbor.  So 
he  refused,  but  the  ghost  insisted.  He  was  in  a 
great  perplexity,  not  knowing  how  to  escape  from 
his  dilemma.  The  ghost  was  growing  more  and 
more  imperative  in  its  demands. 

At  last  the  idea  arose  in  his  mind  that  he  would 
try  the  hammer.  So  going  around  the  room  he 
struck  the  four  magic  blows,  at  which  the  ghost 
disappeared,  and  he  returned  alone  to  his  home  to 
relate  his  adventure. 

THE  RAVEN,  THE  BARNACLE  GOOSE  AND  THE  WHALE 

A  raven  that  lived  along  the  cliffs  near  Cape  Lis- 
burne  became  tired  of  the  humdrum  life  he  was 
leading.  He  had  noticed  that  his  friends,  the  gan- 
nets  and  murres,  with  many  other  acquaintances, 
were  in  the  habit  of  going  on  long  trips  each  fall  and 
not  returning  again  until  the  warmer  weather  of 
spring  had  arrived.  His  own  family  was  content  to 
stay  at  home  the  year  round,  not  showing  the  least 
ambition  to  travel  or  visit  any  of  those  other  coun 
tries  about  which  their  neighbors  were  continually 
142 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

talking.  He  was  particularly  interested  to  learn  that 
in  the  south  the  sun  was  never  lost  in  winter  and  the 
days  were  warm  and  balmy,  just  the  same  as  in  sum 
mer.  He  was  growing  tired  of  his  bachelorship,  and 
therefore  he  decided  to  seek  a  bride  outside  of  his 
own  people,  one  that  would  be  willing  to  travel  with 
him.  Meeting  one  of  the  young  ladies  of  the  Bar 
nacle  Goose  family,  he  proposed  that  she  should  be 
come  his  wife,  lauding  himself  by  saying  what  a 
sweet  voice  he  had,  and  what  a  good  husband  he 
would  make.  Miss  Goose  hung  her  head  and  de 
murred  a  little,  nevertheless  she  accepted  the  offer, 
and  they  began  their  wedding  tour  together. 

The  goose,  knowing  the  route,  took  the  lead 
straight  out  over  the  ocean,  while  the  raven  fol 
lowed,  trying  to  keep  pace  with  his  bride.  As  the 
day  waned,  the  raven  began  to  feel  the  effects  of 
the  long  flight,  while  hunger  was  admonishing  him 
that  he  had  partaken  of  only  a  light  breakfast  that 
morning.  So  addressing  his  wife,  he  said,  "My 
dear,  don't  you  think  it  is  about  time  for  us  to  take 
a  rest  while  we  try  to  find  something  to  eat  ?" 

"  All  right,  husband,"  was  her  reply,  as  she  settled 
lightly  down  on  the  waves.  But  there  was  no  place 
for  the  raven  to  alight,  unless  upon  his  wife's  back. 
143 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

All  was  water,  so  with  a  slight  apology,  he  lit  on 
the  bride's  back.  After  a  short  time  she  began  to 
feel  her  husband's  weight  to  be  somewhat  of  a  bur 
den.  Seeing  a  small  fish,  she  remarked,  "Look  out, 
dear,"  as  she  dove  and  captured  it.  The  raven  just 
had  time  to  open  his  weary  wings,  to  avoid  a  duck 
ing;  then  he  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  how 
selfish  his  bride  was,  as  she  swallowed  the  whole 
fish  without  offering  him  even  a  small  piece,  al 
though  he  was  famishing  with  hunger. 

The  goose  then  started  to  continue  the  journey, 
while  the  raven  implored  her  to  rest  just  a  little 
longer;  but  no,  she  would  not.  There  was  nothing 
else  for  him  to  do  but  to  continue  his  flight,  trying 
to  keep  up  with  his  wife,  while  beseeching  her  to 
take  another  short  rest.  So  the  night  wore  away. 

As  the  dawn  came,  the  bride,  who  had  gradually 
gained  in  her  flight,  was  far  ahead,  while  the  bride 
groom  could  scarcely  flap  his  wings  any  longer. 
The  situation  began  to  look  serious.  If  he  should 
alight  on  the  water  his  feathers  would  become  wet 
and  that  would  be  his  end.  What  to  do  he  did  not 
know.  Just  then  a  whale  came  along,  and  think 
ing  it  would  be  a  good  place  to  alight,  he  managed 
to  reach  its  head  just  as  his  wings  gave  out. 
144 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

The  whale  had  just  started  to  take  a  fresh  breath, 
and  the  raven  entered  the  blow  hole  along  with  the 
rush  of  air.  Looking  around  he  said  to  himself, 
"  What  a  nice  long  room  this  is,"  and  commenced 
walking  about  picking  at  the  walls  here  and  there. 
The  whale  remarked  to  some  of  its  companions, 
"  What  a  cold  I  have  taken  in  my  nose,"  and  began 
sneezing.  The  raven  thought  he  was  in  a  very 
draughty  apartment,  but  he  had  been  born  on  the 
cliffs  at  Cape  Lisburne,  where  the  gales  are  frequent 
and  severe,  so  he  did  not  mind  the  present  wollies * 
to  any  extent. 

He  took  a  walk  in  the  long  passageway  until  the 
road  divided  up  into  the  many  small  by-paths  of 
the  lungs.  At  last,  finding  a  crevice  where  the 
drafts  did  not  seem  quite  so  strong,  he  settled  down 
for  a  good  sleep.  On  awakening,  he  began  examin 
ing  the  comfortable  crevice  and  found  that  the  walls 
were  not  quite  so  thick  as  at  the  other  places.  So 
setting  to  work  with  bill  and  claws  on  a  thin  por 
tion,  he  soon  had  a  hole  made  through  the  mem 
brane;  at  the  same  time  the  whale  was  grumbling 
at  having  the  tickling  sensation  in  its  nose  and  throat 
that  made  it  sneeze  so  often. 

1  Wollie,  a  sudden  high  gust  of  wind  rushing  through  a  gulch. 
145 


Sketches  From   Oldest  America 

The  raven  walked  through  the  opening  and  found 
himself  in  a  much  larger  apartment,  where  there 
was  a  great  deal  to  excite  his  interest,  but  what 
seemed  the  most  curious  thing  of  all  was  a  great 
red  object  that  was  thumping  in  regular  order. 
After  standing  and  watching  it  for  quite  a  while, 
his  curiosity  became  much  aroused.  He  thought  he 
would  feel  it,  just  to  see  if  it  was  hard  or  soft. 
He  commenced  feeling  with  his  bill  and  found  it 
was  quite  firm,  but  on  trial  discovered  that  it  was 
easy  to  nip  off  a  small  piece.  The  fragment  tasted 
very  good,  and  as  he  had  not  breakfasted  yet  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  keep  nipping  off  small  pieces 
until  his  hunger  was  appeased.  The  whale  told  its 
friends  that  these  colds  in  the  nose  were  awful 
things,  for  sometimes  they  struck  through  to  the 
heart.  The  raven  declared  he  had  never  before  had 
such  a  good  thing  in  all  his  life.  Here  was  a  nice 
large  room  with  plenty  to  excite  his  curiosity, 
while  there  was  no  end  of  good  things  to  eat. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  he  found  himself  growing 
quite  fleshy,  but  the  big  red  object  was  not  beating 
with  the  same  regularity  as  at  first.  At  last  it 
ceased,  and  the  whale  lay  floating  on  the  water, 
dead.  The  whale's  friends  declared  that  their  late 
146 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

comrade  had  died  suddenly  from  heart  failure,  in 
duced  by  a  cold  in  the  nose  and  aggravated  by  too 
much  sneezing. 

The  raven  soon  began  to  suspect  that  all  was  not 
quite  right.  The  big  red  object  did  not  work  any 
longer,  while  everything  remained  so  still.  After 
a  while,  the  breaking  of  the  surf  on  the  beach 
greeted  his  ears.  Then  people's  voices  were  heard 
shouting,  "  Here  comes  some  new  meat  and  black 
skin  floating  on  the  ocean." 

The  whale  drifted  on  shore  and  the  inhabitants 
were  soon  cutting  off  the  meat  and  blubber.  One 
man,  working  on  the  ribs,  quickly  had  a  hole  made 
and  light  began  streaming  through.  The  raven  said 
to  himself,  "Here  I  have  grown  quite  corpulent 
during  the  lazy  life  I  have  been  leading;  I  must  not 
let  the  men  see  me."  So,  crouching  down  and  hid 
ing,  he  waited  until  the  hole  was  made  large 
enough,  then  suddenly  opening  his  wings  flew 
out.  Everybody  was  much  surprised  to  see  the 
raven  come  out  of  the  whale.  But  they  heard  him 
say  before  he  disappeared  toward  his  home  on  the 
cliffs,  that  in  the  future  he  would  stick  by  his  own 
people  and  avoid  those  frivolous  young  ladies  of 
the  Barnacle  Goose  family. 
147 


XXI 

Courtship 


XXI 

COURTSHIP 

As  viewed  by  the  outsider,  the  average  Inupash 
courtship  is  devoid  of  romance.  The  first  mating  of 
young  people  is  usually  suggested  and  arranged  by 
the  mothers,  yet  there  are  slight  indications  notice 
able  to  the  initiated  that  will  often  point  to  the  in 
tentions  of  the  persons  interested.  If  one  sees  a 
young  man  beating  out  a  piece  of  metal  and  fashion 
ing  a  finger  ring,  it  is  apt  to  be  for  some  young 
woman;  or  should  a  young  woman  be  making  a 
fancy  tobacco  bag,  of  course  it  is  for  some  young 
man,  and  the  whispering  of  love  is  probably  back 
of  the  inspiration.  It  only  remains  for  the  meet 
ing  of  the  two  mothers  to  arrange  matters. 

The  two  families  may  be  living  close  together, 
yet  the  mother  of  one  will  call  on  her  neighbor  and 
tell  her  how  she  has  intended  to  be  more  neigh 
borly,  but  she  has  been  so  busy.  Then  the  neigh 
bor  will  declare  how  delighted  she  is  to  see  her, 
after  which  the  conversation  is  carried  on  in  the 
usual  strain,  or  until  mother  number  one  commences 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

to  tell  what  a  great  hunter  her  son  is  and  how  good 
he  is.  Then  mother  number  two  remarks  that  her 
daughter  is  such  a  good  sewer  and  knows  how  to 
chew  a  beautiful  boot  sole.  Mother  number  one 
declares  that  they  are  never  hungry  in  their  iglo,  as 
son  is  always  so  successful  and  brings  lots  of  seals 
home.  Mother  number  two  now  remarks  that 
daughter  is  such  a  lovely  cook,  having  taken  lessons 
and  knows  how  to  cook  everything.  (At  the  same 
time,  she  may  consider  herself  fortunate  if  she  has 
half  a  sack  of  China  flour  in  the  house.)  The  con 
versation  continues  for  a  while,  each  mother  trying 
to  present  her  side  in  its  most  favorable  light. 

The  father  now  arriving,  and  being  suspicious  of 
what  is  taking  place,  will  naturally  try  to  be  as 
agreeable  as  possible.  He  will  relate  some  old 
story  that  has  been  doing  duty  in  the  tribe  for  a 
number  of  generations.  Of  course  the  women 
gather  around  and  listen  with  a  great  deal  of  inter 
est,  as  if  it  was  entirely  new  to  them.  Returning 
to  business,  it  is  decided  that  the  young  man  shall 
enter  the  family  on  a  sort  of  trial.  If  the  girl  turns 
up  her  nose  and  makes  faces,  he  might  as  well 
leave,  as  the  match  will  never  amount  to  anything; 
but  should  she  greet  him  with  an  occasional  smile 
152 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

and  allow  him  to  sit  by  her  side  in  the  evening, 
with  his  arm  around  her,  it  will  be  all  clear  sailing 
and  they  will  unite  as  husband  and  wife. 

With  older  people  courtship  is  different.  They 
plead  and  arrange  their  own  affairs,  usually  without 
the  assistance  of  a  third  party;  As  I  have  watched 
these  marriages,  1  could  not  help  but  think  that  they 
turn  out  as  happily  as  in  any  other  section.  Di 
vorces,  formerly  so  common,  are  now  far  less  fre 
quent,  and  when  the  people  marry  it  is  usually  for 
life,  most  couples  living  together  happily  until 
parted  by  death. 


153 


XXII 

The  Wooing  of  Billy  Fishtail 


td 


XXII 

THE  WOOING  OF  BILLY  FISHTAIL 

THERE  was  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  Billy 
and  myself,  for  I  had  looked  upon  him  as  a  perma 
nent  bachelor,  and  he  was  always  such  a  reliable 
fellow.  If  I  set  him  to  whittling  a  bit  of  wood  or 
to  sawing  a  board,  he  was  sure  soon  to  apply  for  a 
bandage  to  stop  the  flow  of  blood  from  a  wound. 
On  trying  to  bore  a  hole  through  a  board  with  a 
sharpened  knitting-needle,  only  the  bone  of  his 
second  finger  prevented  the  instrument  from  pass 
ing  through  that  also.  Even  with  the  axe  he  was 
an  expert;  lifting  it  high  to  take  a  vigorous  blow  he 
would  bring  the  back  down  on  his  own  head,  and 
rush  for  aid. 

He  was  very  faithful,  however,  and  nothing 
seemed  to  make  him  so  happy  as  to  be  doing  what 
he  thought  would  give  me  pleasure.  Some  one 
had  informed  Billy  that  far  away  in  the  States,  the 
singing  on  Sundays  was  accompanied  by  an  organ, 
so  on  the  following  Sunday  Billy  brought  his  small 
accordion  to  church  and  tried  to  accompany  the 
singers.  He  had  not  practiced  the  tunes,  and  there 
157 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

seemed  to  be  a  difference  between  the  drums  of  his 
ears,  for  one  would  catch  a  tune  one  way  while  the 
other  gave  a  different  interpretation.  The  accordion 
could  not  please  both  ears,  so  it  squeaked  and 
wheezed  out  an  air  of  its  own. 

At  last  a  time  came  when  it  was  evident  that  a 
change  was  coming  over  Billy.  He  was  growing 
more  particular  in  his  personal  appearance,  and  was 
even  trying  to  learn  how  to  whistle. 

Just  about  the  same  time,  rumor  said  that  the 
widow  Okpoktoah  had  been  seen  running  around 
the  village  trying  to  procure  the  loan  of  a  cake  of 
soap.  It  looked  very  suspicious,  but  Billy  would 
not  admit  anything.  He  would  simply  hang  his 
head  and  grin.  Then  the  cook  came  one  morning 
with  the  information  that  Billy  had  been  seen  very 
late  the  previous  evening  talking  earnestly  with  the 
widow  at  her  iglo. 

Time  has  now  rolled  along  and  Billy  is  very  happy 
for  he  owns  the  widow,  yet  those  gossiping  neigh 
bors  will  persist  in  saying  that  Billy  is  not  finding 
his  nights  quite  as  restful  as  formerly,  for  his  little 
daughter  has  a  very  imperative  way  of  ordering 
him  to  take  a  walk  during  those  hours  of  the  night 
when  sleep  seems  the  most  refreshing. 
158 


XXIII 

Writing 


XXIII 

WRITING 

To  the  uninitiated  children  of  nature,  the  art  of 
reading  and  writing  seemed  at  first  as  great  a  mys 
tery  as  the  electric  current.  How  those  scrawls  of 
black  lines  were  words,  that  could  be  spoken  just 
the  same  as  in  conversation,  was  beyond  their  corn- 
prehension.  At  first,  they  gathered  around  every 
time  a  letter  was  received  and  listened  eagerly. 
Then  arose  the  desire  for  them  to  be  able  to  make 
out  those  intelligible  scrawls  that  had  a  meaning. 

One  elderly  woman  seemed  to  feel  slighted  that 
she  had  not  received  a  letter;  so  going  on  board  the 
whalers  at  anchor,  she  inquired  if  there  was  not  one 
for  her.  At  last  her  heart  was  made  glad  by  re 
ceiving  a  mukpara  (letter)  which  read  as  follows: — 
"Give  this  woman  a  dose  of  poison."  Carefully 
wrapping  the  precious  missive  in  a  piece  of  sealskin 
and  attaching  a  string,  she  wore  it  around  her  neck 
as  an  ornament,  and  guarded  it  zealously. 

With  the  young  people,  it  was  a  proud  day  when 
they  had  advanced  far  enough  in  their  studies  to  be 
161 


Sketches   From    Oldest  America 

supplied  with  a  pen  for  the  first  time.  Eagerly 
taking  the  pen  and  copy,  the  scholar  would  lie  flat 
on  the  floor,  in  the  most  secluded  part  of  the  room, 
then  call  loudly  to  all  the  others  to  stand  out  of  the 
light.  If  a  blot  accidentally  occurred,  an  attempt 
would  be  made  to  erase  it  with  the  finger-nail.  So 
the  young  Inupash  gradually  advanced  until  he 
became  proficient  enough  to  begin  writing  compo 
sitions. 

The  young  tribal  prince,  for  his  first  composition, 
chose  to  write  upon  the  seal,  and  supposed  he  had 
exhausted  the  subject  when  he  wrote,  "  Man  he  go 
on  ice,  shoot  him  seal.  By  and  by  woman  she 
come  dog  sled,  take  him  seal  home.  By  and  by 
man  he  go  home  tell  woman,  You  cook  him  seal 
very  big  quick,  me  big  plenty  hungry." 

Those  earlier  days  have  passed  by  and  the  mys 
tery  of  the  scrawls  has  been  solved.  The  young 
Inupash  are  learning  to  read  quite  nicely  and  can 
now  write  their  own  letters.  They  still  have  the 
English  grammar  to  master;  it  is  very  different 
from  their  own,  but  at  length  they  will  accomplish 
that  task,  and  at  no  very  distant  time.  The  days 
when  they  used  to  borrow  each  other's  fingers  to  do 
their  counting  with  have  gone  by.  They  are 
162 


Sketches  From    Oldest  America 

steadily  advancing  and  will,  in  the  course  of  time, 
be  numbered  among  our  good  and  intelligent  citi 
zens.  They  are  the  only  ones  that  are  naturally 
fitted  to  inhabit  this,  the  most  northern  part  of  our 
country. 


163 


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